Royal Ascot

Boscobel Crowned King of Ascot
22/06/07

1st 3 Boscobel 7/1
2nd 6 Lucarno 5/2
3rd 9 Yellowstone 8/1

Boscobel may have worn the second colours of owner Sheikh Mohammed, but horses don’t know what order they are meant to finish in and the Halling colt made almost all under Joe Fanning to deny Lucarno by a length.

Winning trainer Mark Johnston, who was gaining his 28th Royal Meeting success and second of the week having struck with Zaham in yesterday’s Hampton Court Stakes, said: “I don’t know about the King George - we’ll go home and think about it.

“He is a horse which has gone through the ranks, starting on the all-weather, and he has proved tough as a result.

“He was in Sheikh Mohammed’s second colours and I thought that the others might ignore him and so it proved getting an easy lead.

“I have had him since November and last year I had a lot of horses running under the Jumeirah Racing banner. This year I have horses running in Sheikh Mohammed’s colours which lets him take the credit which is how it should have been in the first place.”

Fanning was gaining his second Royal Ascot success, following on from I’m So Lucky in last season’s Wolferton Handicap.

“Joe is a good jockey and an all-round horseman,” continued the Middleham trainer. “He settles horses and knows when to go and when not to go.

“It is never the plan to go from the front but if they are there so be it. There was no plan to go to the front and Joe is not going to scrub up to be in front. He kicked at just the right time and he is a master at it.

“That is only his second winner here and maybe that is my fault. He was always the guy that went to Ayr or Redcar while Ascot was on.”

Fanning added: “Mark said not to bustle him along early and if I got to the front to let him bowl along and then kick. He's very tough this horse.
"I felt them come to me but every time they got to my quarters he kept finding a bit. It was like Hamilton that time when he won the Listed race. He's tough and takes racing well. He leans a little bit to the left but he's very hard."

Asked if Boscobel could be a St Leger horse, Fanning replied: "I think he could be. He'll definitely stay further so something like that would probably be the plan. It's nice to win a good race like this."

Ladbrokes and vcbet make the winner an 8/1 chance for the St Leger, the latter firm going from 20/1, while William Hill were more impressed introducing the three-year-old as 5/1 joint-favourite.

SLOW PACE DIDN’T HELP LUCARNO

Trainer John Gosden felt that Vodafone Derby fourth Lucarno, who was sent off 5/2 favourite, would have benefited from a better pace after finishing a length second to Boscobel in the King Edward VII Stakes.

“The time was 2 minutes 37 seconds and change which tells you something,” said Gosden. “The Derby was a fast run race and this was slowly run, that’s the difference.

“The pace wasn’t quite what we wanted but the winner is a nice horse and I think we might have seen the Leger winner there. We’ll probably stay where are between a mile and a half and a mile and a quarter.”

Aidan O’Brien was happy with Yellowstone’s run to come third. “He ran well and is a horse that appreciates nice ground. I’m not sure what his ideal trip and we’ll have a chat about what we do next.”

The well-backed Lion Sands finished fourth under Frankie Dettori and his trainer Luca Cumani said: “He ran well but would have preferred a stronger pace. I thought it was brilliant ride from the front by Joe Fanning on the winner.

“The race became a sprint and the horses finished in the same place as when the sprint began. It was a slow time. However, the race was good experience for him. I don’t know where he will go next.”

3:05pm KING EDWARD VII STAKES
Class 1, Group 2, £200,000 guaranteed, 1m 4f; For 3-y-o colts and geldings; Weights: 8st 12lb; Penalties: a winner of a Group 1 or Group 2 race of 1m 2f or more 3lb; Entries: 93 pay £500; 1st Forfeit: 44 pay £580; Confirmed: 16 pay £360; Penalty value 1st £113,560; 2nd £43,040; 3rd £21,540; 4th £10,740; 5th £5,380; 6th £2,700

1 BOSCOBEL (Sheikh Mohammed) Mark Johnston 3-8-12 Joe Fanning [3] 7/1
2 LUCARNO (George Strawbridge) John Gosden 3-8-12 Jimmy Fortune [7] 5/2F
3 YELLOWSTONE (Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Sue Magnier) Aidan O'Brien IRE 3-8-12 Johnny Murtagh [9] 8/1
4 LION SANDS (Stronach Stables, Fittocks Stud) Luca Cumani 3-8-12 Frankie Dettori [6]
5 SPICE ROUTE (Mrs G Rowland-Clar And Mr K Mercer) Michael Bell 3-8-12 Jamie Spencer [5]
6 ASHKAZAR (HH Aga Khan) Alan De Royer Dupre FR 3-8-12 Christophe Soumillon [4]
7 SALFORD MILL (Tony Thompson) David Elsworth 3-8-12 Ted Durcan [2]
8 HARLAND (Sheikh Mohammed) Michael Jarvis 3-8-12 Philip Robinson [1]
9 AL THARIB (Hamdan Al Maktoum) Sir Michael Stoute 3-8-12 Richard Hills [8]

9 ran
Distances: 1, 1½, 1½, ½, 1 1/4, 3, nk, 7
Time: 2m 37.13s
Breeding: ch c Halling (USA) - Dunnes River (USA) (Danzig (USA))
Breeder: Darley
Totes: Win: £8.90; Places: £2.30; £1.30; £3.00; Exacta: £33.20

Winning Trainer:-Name: Johnston, Mark Steven Born: Glasgow, 10/9/59 Date of first licence: January 1987 First winner: Hinari Video (Carlisle, July 1, 1987) Previous Occupation: Qualified as veterinary surgeon at Glasgow University; practiced as vet in Cleveland, Essex and Northern Ireland, spent brief spells with John Winter, Tommy Craig, Charlie Millbank in France and John Russell in USA Classic wins: (2) 2000 Guineas (1994 Mister Baileys); 1000 Guineas (2004 Attraction) Other major wins include: Ascot Gold Cup (1995 Double Trigger, 2001, 2002 Royal Rebel), Cherry Hinton Stakes (2003 Attraction), Chester Vase (2002 Fight Your Corner), Classic Trial (2002 Simeon), Cornwallis Stakes (1994 Millstream), Credit Suisse Private Banking Pokal (2002 Yavana’s Pace), Dewhurst Stakes (2004 Shamardal), Doncaster Cup (1995,1996 & 1998 Double Trigger), Dubai Turf Classic (1999 Fruits Of Love), Futurity Stakes (1994 Jural), Gordon Stakes (2002 Bandari), Gran Criterium (2006 Kirklees), Great Voltigeur Stakes (2002 Bandari), Hardwicke Stakes (1999 and 2000 Fruits of Love), Harvest Stakes (2002 Love Everlasting), Lady O Goodwood Cup (1995, 1997 & 1998 Double Trigger, 2000 Royal Rebel, 2004 Darasim), Lingfield Derby Trial (2002 Bandari), Ormonde Stakes (2004 Systematic), Princess Of Wales’s Stakes (1998 Fruits Of Love, 2004 Bandari, 2006 Soapy Danger), Princess Margaret Stakes (1992 Marina Park), Royal Lodge Stakes (1993 Mister Baileys), Sagaro Stakes (1995 & 1996 Double Trigger), St James’s Palace Stakes (1996 Bijou D'Inde), Veuve Cliquot Vintage Stakes (1993 Mister Baileys, 2004 Shamardal) Wins in a season (1987-2006): 1: 5: 15: 28: 31: 53: 77: 117: 114: 116: 123: 100: 113: 130: 116: 134 (most victories in Britain): 139: 119 (most victories in Britain):141:158 Wins in 2007: 76 Number of horses in training (1987-2007): n/a: 17: 18: 35: 35: 39: 49: 72: 120: 117: 120: 130: 147: 152: 159: 178: 178: n/a: n/a: n/a; n/a Trains at Kingsley House Racing Stables Middleham, N Yorks Royal Ascot wins (28): Gold Cup (1995 Double Trigger, 2001 & 2002 Royal Rebel), King George V Handicap (1995 Diaghilef, 2002 Systematic, 2003 Fantastic Love, 2006 Linas Selection), St James’s Palace Stakes (1996 Bijou D’Inde), Britannia Handicap (1997 Fly To The Stars), Hardwicke Stakes (1999 and 2000 Fruits Of Love, 2002 Zindabad, 2005 Bandari), Chesham Stakes (2000 Celtic Silence, 2002 Helm Bank, 2003 Pearl Of Love), Queen’s Vase (2001 And Beyond, 2003 Shanty Star, 2005 Melrose Avenue, 2006 Soapy Danger), Duke of Edinburgh Handicap (2001 Takamaka Bay), Queen Mary Stakes (2003 Attraction), Norfolk Stakes (2003 Russian Valour), Ascot Stakes (2004 Double Obsession), Coronation Stakes (2004 Attraction), Wolferton Handicap (2006 I’m So Lucky), Hampton Court Stakes (2007 Zaham), King Edward VII Stakes (2007 Boscobel) First Royal Ascot win: Double Trigger (June 22, 1995 - Gold Cup)

Winning jockey:-Name: Fanning, Joseph Kenning Based: Middleham, North Yorkshire Details: Rides mainly for Mark Johnston Born: September 24, 1970 First Win: Henry Will, Yarmouth, June 9, 1990 Major Wins Include: Betty Barclay-Rennen (2004 Darasim), Goodwood Cup (2004 Darasim), Musidora Stakes (2005 Secret History), Great St Wilfrid Handicap (2004 Smokin Beau), Northumberland Plate (1993 Highflying), Sirenia Stakes (2005 Prince Of Light), Vintage Stakes (2004 Shamardal) Wins (1991-2006): 43, 45, 22, 14, 17, 19, 18, 18, 67, 63, 71, 76, 84, 97, 76, 108 Wins in 2007: 60 Royal Ascot Wins: (2) Wolferton Handicap (2006 I’m So Lucky), King Edward VII Stakes (2007 Boscobel) First Royal Ascot Winner: I’m So Lucky, Wolferton Handicap, June 23, 2006.