Can Nahanni recover from Derby horror show to give Appleby back-to-back wins?

Wednesday: 3.05 Royal Ascot
Queen's Vase (Group 2) | 1m6f | 3yo | ITV/Sky

The proposal to tweak the conditions of the Queen’s Vase in 2017 was met with some disapproval but those alterations have enhanced the race’s stature and importance in the calendar. This is the best 1m6f three-year-old race in Britain aside from the St Leger.

The last five winners’ average Racing Post Rating of 109 is 6lb superior to that of the previous five since this switched from a Listed race over two miles to a shorter-distance Group 2. In Stradivarius and Kew Gardens, the Queen’s Vase has recently unearthed two future stars of the sport.

Aidan O’Brien has captured half the last ten runnings and this is the first time since 2014 the trainer has only saddled one runner.

Anchorage shares similarities with three of those five winners in that he is a son of superstar sire Galileo. A mile and a quarter looked too sharp on his return in the Gallinule Stakes and improvement can be expected.

Nahanni is the only one who ran in the Derby 11 days ago and represents last year’s winning trainer Charlie Appleby. Reported to have been shaken up by the pre-race firework display at Epsom, Nahanni ran a fair race in the circumstances to claim seventh.

Kew Gardens finished further down the Derby field in 2018 before capturing the Vase and the double is patently doable for a colt whose previous Derby trial success has worked out.

However, the market is perhaps reading too much into the fact William Buick has been booked to ride Nahanni rather than stablemate Hafit. James Doyle partners the eye-popping 2.1 million guineas purchase, who has proved expensive to follow since making a winning debut.

Hafit has lost at odds of 8-11, 6-4, 5-4 and most recently 30-100, but has only contested muddling small field races and never been beaten far. This should be truly run and first-time cheekpieces combined with a step up in trip can help Hafit, who is 4lb clear on official ratings.
Race analysis by Robbie Wilders

'He was one of the few horses that ran through the line in the Derby'

There will certainly be no fireworks to spook Nahanni ahead of the Queen's Vase, but the big poser for punters is whether 11 days has been enough time for him to recover from a poor Derby experience.

Adam Kirby was convinced the firework display at Epsom was to blame for Nahanni's sluggish start, stressing that they "wound him up" and he found himself trailing the entire field after a furlong of the race.

With that in mind, Nahanni arguably did well to get within 11 and a half lengths of Desert Crown and Charlie Appleby felt he was one of the few in the Derby to finish out his race. His trainer thinks the extra two furlongs here will suit.

Appleby, who won the race last year with Kemari, said: "I thought Nahanni ran a good race in the Derby given the running style we unfortunately had to adopt. He was propping away in the gates when they opened so therefore he fluffed his lines and had to accept the position he was in. He had to sit last on him.

"He was one of the few horses I thought ran through the line in the Derby. He's come out of the race surprisingly well because we thought he had a hard enough race. He's eaten up and done all the things he needs to do. Stepping up to one mile six furlongs is going to suit him."

Hafit might be the second string according to the market but Appleby believes the best is still to come from the son of Dubawi.

He said: "I'm looking forward to Hafit. Some would say he's been a bit frustrating, but he's a typical Dubawi and we're only going to see the best of him from now on. He's got an impeccable pedigree.

"We're applying cheekpieces because he's not the strongest of travellers and we want to get him travelling and up on the bridle to give him the best chance of being in the right position when they turn the taps on."

What they say

Karl Burke, trainer of Al Qareem
We had originally been looking at the King George V Handicap on Thursday but I think there would be as much prestige in finishing in the first three in a Queen's Vase as there would be in winning that handicap. This is another step up in trip for him but I'm pretty sure he'll get it – and as the ground is going to be plenty quick enough for him, the trip should help. We've got our eyes on a trip to Australia later this year.

Aidan O'Brien, trainer of Anchorage
We were happy with how he fared in the Gallinule, it was his first run of the year and we knew he would come on for it. We always thought he wanted further and he gets his chance to run over a longer trip here. We do think he'll appreciate it and he seems to be in very good form.

Anchorage will run for Aidan O'Brien in the Queen's VaseCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Thady Gosden, joint-trainer of Baltic Bird and Emotion
Baltic Bird won well at Yarmouth last time and is up in trip as well as class. He shapes as if he should get it. Emotion found the ground a bit deep for her at Goodwood last time and is out of a mare that won the Prix du Cadran so should appreciate the step up in trip.

Roger Varian, trainer of Eldar Eldarov
He's in terrific condition. We think he'll stay and is a very nice horse. He has to show he's effective on fast ground, which is perhaps a question mark, but he's training well and has a very good profile for this race.

Fozzy Stack, trainer of Ruler Legend
He's a nice horse and the trip will definitely suit him. He’d gallop all day for you. The ground is a bit of an unknown so we’ll just have to see how he handles it.

Martyn Meade, joint-trainer of Zechariah
I think the step up in trip will suit him and we've just been taking steps to get there. He didn't really act at Lingfield and I think Ascot will be more his thing. It's a tough ask but I think he has every right to be there.
Reporting by David Jennings

Read more of Wednesday's Royal Ascot previews:

2.30 Royal Ascot: Karl Burke: I really do think she has the potential to be a special filly

3.40 Royal Ascot: Sir Michael Stoute has eyes on the prize as Bay Bridge faces toughest test yet

4.20 Royal Ascot: Will Mother Earth's course form prove decisive or is that too simple?

5.00 Royal Ascot: Trainer quotes and draw analysis for a red-hot Royal Hunt Cup

5.35 Royal Ascot: Are we dealing with a potential 'good thing' in the shape of Little Big Bear?

6.10 Royal Ascot: Could Royal Ascot's newest race break the rule for races over a mile?

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