They came for an ‘I was there moment’ and their wish was granted. Though the horse wasn’t carrying the colours they anticipated, nobody was complaining.
Feverish excitement had built ahead of Royal Ascot’s first day about the potential of the King and Queen greeting a winner but luck was not on the Monarchs’ side: Reaching High, hot favourite for the Ascot Stakes, got stuck in worse traffic than a Friday on the M25, and finished unplaced behind 20-1 shot Ascending.
With all respect to Reaching High’s connections, however, even if the gelding had won, he wouldn’t have been able to outstrip the superlative performance from Field Of Gold in the St James’s Palace Stakes, who did exactly what the best should do in this historic corner of Berkshire.
A crowd of 45,551, up from last year’s day one attendance of 43,791, were left gasping when Colin Keane shook his reins with two furlongs of the one-mile contest to run. The galloping grey, sent-off the 8-11 favourite, took off like a motorcycle might if its rider twists the throttle too tightly. ‘Yeah, it was something like that!’ Keane said with a broad smile when the analogy was made.
‘When you ask him to quicken, it’s pretty instant. Without a doubt he’s as good as I have ridden. He is a level above everything. It’s hard to describe, really. He just feels like a very good horse. He did something similar at the Curragh, when we won the Irish 2,000 Guineas, just maybe not in such a strong field.
‘This was a proper renewal of the race. When he quickened up, I thought it would take a good one to get to him.’
Field of Gold stole the headlines on a gripping first day at Royal Ascot on Tuesday afternoon
Colin Keane understood the analogy that his mount was like a motorcycle going full throttle
Prince Saud bin Khalid’s Juddmonte also owned his father Kingman, who won the race in 2014
Keane is a modest, understated man but he’s the perfect match for Juddmonte, the breeding operation whose green and pink silks symbolise class. Field Of Gold’s father, Kingman, was a blistering winner of the St James’s Palace Stakes in 2014 but this felt even more electrifying.
‘That was wonderful,’ said John Gosden, who trained both horses. ‘I suppose in a sense he surpasses his Dad, who was fantastic. He could turn it on but then think he had done enough and go to sleep. He was pretty amazing when he won this race but that really was something to behold.’
Gosden, who would later saddle a second winner on the card with French Master, isn’t a man for giving a cheap headline, so those words should resonate a little louder; Henri Matisse and Ruling Court, winners of the French and English 2,000 Guineas, were beaten legless.
His Highness Prince Saud bin Khalid of Juddmonte said: ‘We are very fortunate to have a horse of this calibre – not only winning but the style by which he won was very impressive, wasn’t it? Being a son of Kingman makes it even more of a value to all of us. It is (my late father) Prince Khalid’s legacy.’
There will be more days like this for Keane in future but the thing that so appeals about Ascot is the fact the happiness can be shared around – from Docklands, who sprang a surprise in the opening Queen Anne to American Affair in the King Charles III Stakes.
Trainer John Gosden was impressed with his horse’s running, believing Field of Gold to have surpassed his father’s achievement
American Affair claimed a stunning result for veteran Jim Goldie in the King Charles III Stakes
What a result the latter was for veteran trainer Jim Goldie, who was winning at the Royal meeting for the first time. American Affair benefitted from a sublime ride from Paul Mulrennan, the best jockey riding in the north of England who was complimented by the King for his superb horsemanship.
‘The last time I had a Royal Ascot winner (Dandino in 2010), I had jet black hair!’ Mulrennan said. ‘Jim has been very good to me the last few years. He is a master trainer. He can get inside a horse’s head. This is just an amazing sport.’
