Windsor Castle Stakes
QuinnBet
Listed, Ascot 16:10
Winner: £23,680,
2yo only,
5f, Class 1    
Wednesday 17th June 2020

Tebwin

1 Tactical 7/2F
2 Yazaman 20/1
3 Muker 40/1
18 ran NR: Macho Pride, Steadman
Distances: 1¼l, shd, 2l Time: 1m 0.04s (slow by 1.04s)

The Queen may be missing for the first time in her reign, but Tactical handed Her Majesty a 24th Royal Ascot success when taking the Listed contest. It was a sixth Royal Ascot success for trainer Andrew Balding and a 15th jockey James Doyle, who was recording a 26/1 double following the earlier success of Lord North in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes.

Tactical, a homebred son of Toronado, had shaped promisingly when third on debut at Newmarket on June 4 and showed the benefit of that experience when staying on well for a length and a quarter victory over Yazaman.

Andrew Balding said: “Tactical was showing a fair bit at home before we ran him first time out. He ran a nice race and learnt plenty, and James gave him a lovely ride today, but we were quite hopeful, especially when it looked like the draw was more of a help than a hindrance.

“He was showing plenty early. He would have been, for me, ready to run in April, which is very early for one of mine. He has got a great attitude and is very professional. It is obviously a huge thrill for all of us to have a Royal winner at the Royal meeting. I feel very lucky.

“Dad [Ian Balding] was lucky enough to have a Royal winner here, and my uncle William [Lord Huntingdon] had a couple, so it is nice to keep up with them.

“We thought Tactical had learnt a lot [on his debut at Newmarket on June 4] and would be a bit sharper, and that very much proved to be the case. But he still had to get the job done and did it nicely at the end. I think he will be better over six furlongs, and we stuck at five because we thought the Coventry Stakes would be a much stronger race, but he will certainly be going six furlongs and looks up to Group class, anyway.”

Trainers Quotes

Balding was asked how communication with The Queen regarding her horses works. He replied: “With the routine stuff it is obviously John Warren [The Queen’s racing adviser] we deal with, but on a raceday we tend to give her a ring in the morning and tell her our thoughts, which I did this morning, so she was well-informed. She will be thrilled, I am sure!”

James Doyle said: “I was quite confident to be honest. Oisin rode Tactical first time and I rode in that race, so I could see by his reaction that he was quite frustrated afterwards.

“Things just didn’t quite go to plan as there was a speed and rail bias that day, but I loved the way he came home. The vibes were very positive and that was justified by him going off favourite – there was plenty of market support for him all day.

“It was a straightforward race. I was a bit concerned about the draw and could foresee a few traffic problems if he didn’t begin quickly. But testament to Tactical, he took it all in his stride, he jumped the gates very quick. I got a nice lead from Oisin and he actually stayed off the rail, which helped me. I kept things simple and was conscious about not getting to the front too soon on a horse who is inexperienced.

“A runner in the centre of the field kicked for home and that took me out of my comfort zone for a few strides, but a furlong down I knew I would get him and I knew his last furlong would be his best furlong. Oisin sees him as a six or seven-furlong horse going forward, so he has performed with a lot of credit today.”

Reflecting on what it means to ride a winner in the famous colours of Her Majesty, Doyle continued: “This is what dreams are made of. When you start off riding as an apprentice you want to ride winners here. I started off for a few years without getting close to a winner and then you finally get your first one. I have hit the board a couple of times for Her Majesty at this meeting so to get a winner for her is what dreams are made of. I was second on Magnetic Charm for her in the Sandringham Handicap last year, so get it right today is great. It means a lot.

“I have been lucky enough to meet Her Majesty at the gallops at Beckhampton – that was the first time I met her. I have been lucky enough to ride a few winners for her and now to ride a Royal Ascot winner means everything.

“It is just a huge honour. It is not one of the flagship races here, but it is the connections involved – it’s great.

“I was here the day Estimate won, it was an amazing reaction, we don’t have that here today unfortunately, but I hope Her Majesty enjoyed watching it.”

John Warren, Racing Manager to The Queen, commented: “Everyone involved is thrilled. All of Her Majesty’s stud team and staff team at Sandringham and Polehampton through to the operations that provide the horses and obviously Andrew Balding and his team. It is a big team effort and it’s wonderful for Toronado to sire a big two-year-old winner like that.

“It is lovely for The Queen. She has a nice, young mare [Make Fast, dam of Tactical] and this is her first foal. Throughout the conversations, Her Majesty was saying how delighted she was to breed a two-year-old winner. It is lovely to breed and own a lovely Royal Ascot two-year-old.

“Andrew Balding had been saying from the spring that Tactical was naturally precocious and had found his work terribly easy. It looked as though he was a nice prospect, although at that point we didn’t immediately clock him as an Ascot two-year-old.

“When he ran at Newmarket and he got himself into a bit of trouble, but he had such a good introduction and came out of the race so well, it boded well for his prospects to come here.

“We debated running him in the Coventry Stakes over his preferred trip, but we felt Tactical had enough pace. He is very powerful and strong, so we thought we would take our chance over the five furlongs and luckily we learned that he will make the switch up to six-furlongs quite happily so we will look at races like the Richmond at Goodwood or the Prix Robert Papin.

“It is obviously a great shame that Her Majesty is not at Royal Ascot to enjoy the buzz of a winner. She has studied every bit of it today watching the races. The last two days she has been able to spend a little bit of time watching the big races. This was the icing on the cake to have a winner for Her Majesty – it is tremendous.”

First Receiver was a creditable second in the G3 Hampton Court Stakes for Her Majesty earlier on the card and Warren was pleased with the performance of the Sir Michael Stoute-trained three-year-old. He added: “First Receiver has run a lovely race and he has a very nice future ahead of him.”

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Windsor Castle Stakes (Listed)
Winner: £23,680, 2yo only, 5f, Class 1
18 ran
Going: Good

POS. (DRAW) DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1 (20)    Tactical 2 9-3 Andrew Balding James Doyle 7/2F
2 (5) 1¼ Yazaman 2 9-3 William Haggas Tom Marquand 20/1
3 (10) shd Muker 2 9-3 Phillip Makin Paul Mulrennan 40/1
4 (1)  2  Get It 2 9-3 Clive Cox Adam Kirby 20/1
5 (11) ½ Mighty Gurkha 2 9-3 Archie Watson Hollie Doyle 6/1
6 (4) nk Victory Heights 2 9-3 James Tate P J McDonald 28/1
7 (2) ¾ Chief Little Hawk 2 9-3 A P O'Brien Ryan Moore 4/1
8 (16) hd Sheriff Bianco 2 9-3 Wesley A Ward Oisin Murphy 13/2
9 (12) nk Sunshine City 2 8-12 Wesley A Ward Frankie Dettori 9/1
10 (14) ¾ Fools Rush In 2 9-3 Tom Dascombe Richard Kingscote 40/1
11 (17) ½ Hyde Park Barracks 2 9-3 A P O'Brien Sean Levey
12 (13) dh Selected 2 9-3 Richard Fahey Joe Fanning 125/1
13 (8) 1¼ Fast Start 2 9-3 Saeed bin Suroor William Buick 33/1
14 (3) 1 Stay Smart 2 9-3 David O'Meara David Nolan 33/1
15 (15) 1 Tantastic 2 9-3 Brian Ellison Ben Robinson 100/1
16 (6) ¾ Astimegoesby 2 9-3 George Boughey Ben Curtis 20/1
17 (19) 7 Tenth Century 2 9-3 Michael Bell Silvestre De Sousa 100/1
18 (9) 4 Honeydew 2 8-12 Sylvester Kirk Luke Morris 200/1
NR 7 (7) 1 Macho Pride 2 9-3 Ben Haslam NON RUNNER
NR 13 (18) 2 Steadman 2 9-3 David O'Meara NON RUNNER

QuinnBet

WINDSOR CASTLE STAKES WINNERS

YR/DATE WINNER TRAINER JOCKEY OWNER AGE/WGT SP

2019 SOUTHERN HILLS
2018 SOLDIER'S CALL
2017 SOUND AND SILENCE Charlie Appleby William Buick Godolphin 2-9-03 16/1
2016 ARDAD John Gosden Robert Havlin Saeed Abdullah Al Nabooda 2-9-03 20/1
2015 WASHINGTON DC Aidan O’Brien IRE Ryan Moore Sue Magnier, Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith 2-9-03 5/1
14/17/06 HOOTENANNY Wesley Ward USA Victor Espinoza Derrick Smith, Sue Magnier & Michael Tabor 2-9-03 7/2F
13/18/06 EXTORTIONIST Olly Stevens Johnny Murtagh Qatar Racing Limited 2-9-03 16/1
12/19/06 HOTOTO Kevin Ryan Phillip Makin Kenneth Macpherson 2-9-03 14/1
11/14/06 FREDERICK ENGELS David Brown Johnny Murtagh Qatar Bloodstock 2-9-03 9/4F
10/15/06 MARINE COMMANDO Richard Fahey Paul Hanagan Mike Wynne 2-9-03 9/2
09/16/06 STRIKE THE TIGER Wesley Ward USA John Velazquez Mitch Dutko & Ray Sainz 2-9-03 33/1
08/17/06 FLASHMAN’S PAPERS John Best Steve Drowne David Gorton 2-9-03 100/1
07/19/06 DRAWNFROMTHEPAST Jamie Osborne Martin Dwyer Elaine and Martyn Booth 2-9-03 9/1
06/20/06 ELHAMRI Sylvester Kirk Declan McDonogh Norman Ormiston 2-9-03 20/1
*05/18/06 TITUS ALONE Bryan Smart Kevin Darley Hintlesham Racing 2-8-11 11/4
04/15/06 CHATEAU ISTANA Nick Littmoden Tom Queally Ivan Allan 2-8-13 12/1
03/21/06 HOLBORN Mick Channon Steve Drowne Sheikh Mohammed 2-8-13 5/2F
02/21/06 REVENUE Michael Bell Johnny Murtagh Royal Ascot Racing Club 2-8-11 14/1
01/22/06 IRONY Jamie Osborne Pat Eddery John Nicholls Ltd/Mobley Homes 2-8-11 8/1
00/23/06 AUTUMNAL Brian Meehan Pat Eddery Paul and Jenny Green 2-8-08 4/1
99/18/06 KALINDI Mick Channon Richard Quinn Barry Taylor 2-8-06 14/1
98/19/06 FLANDERS Tim Easterby Lindsay Charnock Jean Connew 2-8-10 15/8F
97/20/06 ASFURAH Saeed bin Suroor Richard Hills Godolphin 2-8-06 7/1
96/21/06 DAZZLE Michael Stoute Kieren Fallon Cheveley Park Stud 2-8-05 7/2F
95/23/06 KUANTAN Paul Cole Richard Quinn Sultan Ahmad Shah 2-8-11 11/1
94/17/06 BRAVE MUSIC Paul Cole Richard Quinn Lord Portman 2-8-11 9/1
93/18/06 GREAT DEEDS Mick Channon Richard Quinn Dubai Racing Syndicate 2-8-06 10/1
92/19/06 SATANK Bill Watts Pat Eddery Robert Sangster 2-8-13 7/1
91/21/06 ISDAR Tom Jones Richard Hills Hamdan Al Maktoum 2-8-13 8/1
90/22/06 GIPSY FIDDLER Jonjo O’Neill Pat Eddery G B Davidson 2-9-06 7/2
89/23/06 PHARAOH’S DELIGHT Peter Hudson Pat Eddery Al-Deera Bloodstock Holdings Ltd 2-8-08 11/2
88/17/06 BARRY’S GAMBLE Tommy Fairhurst Pat Eddery North Cheshire Trading & Storage Ltd 2-9-06 5/2
87/19/06 SPACE CRUISER Henry Cecil Steve Cauthen Stavros Niarchos 2-9-06 8/11F
86/20/06 CAROL’S TREASURE Barry Hills Brent Thomson Carol Lane 2-9-04 6/5F
85/21/06 ATALL ATALL Martin Pipe Paul Eddery A Millward 2-9-04 12/1
84/22/06 SEA FALCON Peter Makin Steve Cauthen Jim Brewer 2-9-04 4/1
83/17/06 DEFECTING DANCER Henry Cecil Lester Piggott Sheikh Mohammed 2-9-04 6/4F
82/18/06 PRINCE REYMO Robert Armstrong Steve Cauthen R Emmitt 2-9-04 6/4F
81/19/06 TENDER KING John Sutcliffe Philip Waldron Esal Commodities Ltd 2-9-04 6/1
80/20/06 COOLINEY PRINCE Paddy Prendergast IRE George McGrath J O’Malley 2-9-04 9/1
79/22/06 ROLLAHEAD Jeremy Hindley Joe Mercer Bobby McAlpine 2-9-04 13/2
78/23/06 BLUE REFRAIN John Benstead Brian Rouse Mrs L Wood 2-9-04 16/1
77/17/06 TARDOT Michael Kauntze IRE Willie Carson Mrs Michael Kauntze 2-9-04 15/2