Derby form franked, new stars plus the best place to look for royal winners - four things we learned at Royal Ascot

In the blink of an eye, five wonderful days of the best Flat racing has to offer has come and gone. But what were some of our main takeaways from this year's Royal Ascot?

Derby form looks red-hot

Aidan O’Brien’s Continuous may have been beaten in the King Edward VII Stakes on Friday, but the master trainer had reason to smile anyway given the form boost the race gave to his Derby winner Auguste Rodin.

King Of Steel looked imperious as he dominated his rivals in the style of a very good horse, less than three weeks after being beaten just half a length by Coolmore's Epsom hero.

King Of Steel: easy winner of the King Edward VII StakesCredit: Edward Whitaker

Auguste Rodin had three more runs under his belt compared to his Roger Varian-trained rival when the pair clashed that day, so a rematch between the duo (is the King George too fanciful an idea?) would be fascinating.

It was not just King Of Steel advertising the strength of the Derby either as Waipiro, sixth at Epsom, was allowed to go off 7-1 for the Hampton Court on Thursday and ran out an easy winner, suggesting bigger targets await once more.
Sam Hendry

Commonwealth Cup has earned its place as a Royal Ascot showpiece

Some races work better than others when added into the calendar and the Commonwealth Cup has quickly established itself as a top-level contest worthy of its place at the royal meeting.

First won by Muhaarar in 2015, the three-year-old sprint has an honour roll including Quiet Reflection and Advertise and has been won by horses stepping back in trip from the Guineas and sprinters on the up.

Shaquille (left) storms home from Little Big Bear (second left) in the Commonwealth CupCredit: Alan Crowhurst

Last week's winner Shaquille was one of the most impressive scorers across the five days. It was heartening to see trainer Julie Camacho enjoy such a big-race success and the manner in which Shaquille defied a slow start to beat odds-on favourite Little Big Bear was superb.

While the strength of the form could be questioned, with Lezoo and Sakheer failing to fire again after Guineas defeats, it was some effort from Shaquille to win from such an unpromising position.

The July Cup appears the aim for the Commonwealth Cup one-two and what a rematch that would be. Newmarket on July 15 – don’t miss it.
Jack Haynes

Keep a close eye on Lockinge day next year

This year's meeting has proved a difficult puzzle to crack, but for future pointers for Royal Ascot 2024 and beyond, look no further than Newbury's Lockinge day.

Three winners during the week had been on show at the other Berkshire track's flagship Flat meeting. Most notably, Shaquille won the Listed Carnarvon Stakes on that card before storming to Group 1 glory in the Commonwealth Cup, while Warm Heart also scored in Listed company on that day before winning the Ribblesdale Stakes.

Desert Hero may not have won the ultra-competitive London Gold Cup, but that proved a perfect prep for a famous royal success for the King and Queen in the King George V Stakes.

Desert Hero (right) was a beaten favourite in the London Gold Cup but bounced back at AscotCredit: Alan Crowhurst

The Queen Anne was almost a rerun of the Lockinge itself bar Inspiral and the winner Triple Time, who had been pencilled in for Newbury and was a market mover until being withdrawn on the morning of the race. If he had run as intended, you'd have to think the 33-1 punters got on him at Ascot would have been a thing of fantasy.

A host of other horses to run at that meeting also ran huge races in defeat. Bolshoi Ballet, who finished third in the Al Rayyan Stakes, was runner-up in the Wolferton, London Gold Cup winner Bertinelli was third this time behind Desert Hero, and the third in that race, Exoplanet, finished second to Waipiro in the Hampton Court.

Bluestocking, runner-up behind Warm Heart at Newbury, was third in the Ribblesdale, while Desert Cop and Rumstar – second and sixth in the Carnarvon – outran their rank outsider tags in the King's Stand and Commonwealth Cup. 

Given there is usually a month between Lockinge day and Royal Ascot, it could be the perfect gap for horses who run there to be primed for the prestigious meeting. For next year, make sure to have your notebook at the ready for Newbury.
Matt Rennie

Mostahdaf the new star

The Prince of Wales's Stakes had long been touted as the race of the week. Even in Desert Crown's absence, Luxembourg, Adayar, Bay Bridge and My Prospero looked set to serve up a barnstormer.

And they did just that, the quartet finishing within three lengths of each other, and it was hard to argue they didn't run up to form. The problem for them was the sight of the unheralded Mostahdaf streaking off into the distance ahead of them.

Mostahdaf left his Prince of Wales's Stakes rivals trailingCredit: Edward Whitaker

The Shadwell runner had barely merited a mention in the build-up, with his form behind the spectacular Equinox in the Sheema Classic sneaking under the radar, but he defied his double-figure odds with a clear career-best performance.

He obviously runs well fresh (has won on each occasion following at least a 58-day break) and so the preference of John Gosden to now wait for the Juddmonte International in August looks sensible.

With little excuse for any of those in behind, the five-year-old son of Frankel appears to have solid claims to becoming one of the top middle-distance horses in training.
Sam Hendry

Read these next:

'She's the main one to take from the race' - who were the eyecatchers in the six juvenile contests at Royal Ascot?  

'I wasn't expecting him to make them look like they were standing still'  - Mostahdaf dazzles in Prince of Wales's Stakes  

'I thought he'd blown it' - Shaquille defies dreadful start to land extraordinary Group 1 win  

'He's going to be a wonderful horse' - Derby runner-up King Of Steel sparkles in King Edward VII success  

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