Royal Ascot sires at Arrowfield
No fewer than four Arrowfield stallions will be represented by runners at the 2010 Royal Ascot meeting, which begins tonight (Australian Eastern Standard Time).
Hussonet (USA) will open the Arrowfield challenge when his gallant son Gold Trail (ex Trail of Gold by Danewin) lines up in the five-furlong King’s Stand S. G1, at 12:05 am tomorrow.
Already a Group One winner over 1200 metres, and a fine fourth in last month’s Singapore TC Krisflyer International Sprint G1 at the same distance, Gold Trail is well fancied, but faces stiff Australian & international opposition on the steady climb of Ascot’s straight course.
Eighty minutes later, at 1:25 am AEST, two-year-old colt Elzaam (ex Mambo in Freeport (USA) by Kingmambo) will fly the flag for Redoute’s Choice in the Coventry Stakes G2 , also over six furlongs. He is the first member of Redoute’s Choice’s 2008 crop born in Australia to northern hemisphere time to race, and he made a favourable impression when he won on debut at York on 13 May. Trained by Michael Jarvis for Sheikh Hamdan, he’s currently around 5/1, but others are better-liked by punters, among them Strong Suit and Aidan O’Brien’s pair Samuel Morse and Zoffany.
The six-furlong Golden Jubilee Stakes is the final Group One race of the carnival, on Day 5, Saturday 19 June and it will be contested by three horses with strong Arrowfield connections.
Flying Spur will be represented by Alverta (ex Grilse (USA) by Rahy) and Hong Kong star Happy Zero (ex Have Love by Canny Lad) will step up for Danzero ; while former Arrowfield stallion Falbrav appears as the sire of Fravashi (ex Angelic Smile by Dehere). Happy Zero won the HKJC Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup HK-1 in March, and powered home for third in last month’s Singapore TC Krisflyer International Sprint G1. Four days out from the race, he’s the best-backed of this trio.
