Ascot, England // Ribchester and Barney Roy gave Godolphin a glorious start to Royal Ascot on Tuesday with victories respectively in the Queen Anne Stakes and St James’s Palace Stakes.
Ribchester broke the track record under William Buick by posting a time of 1 minute, 36.60 seconds to beat Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid’s Mutakayyef by a length and a quarter.
Barney Roy similarly lowered the record in the race for three-year-olds with a time of 1:37.22 and provided James Doyle with a reassuring Group 1 success in the Godolphin Royal Blue.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, was seen on television celebrating with his wife, Princess Haya, as Ribchester crossed the line.
It was the 40th anniversary of Hatta’s unlikely victory when she became the Sheikh’s first winner on a racecourse.
“Hatta was my first horse and people were surprised when she beat the favourite,” he said. “From that day we have moved forward and we are really enjoying it. In life there is no winning post. You have to keep going otherwise the rest will catch up with you. Royal Ascot is a great place to win. It is difficult to win because everybody comes from all over the world.”
Godolphin were undone in their bid to win the three Group 1 races when last year’s winner Profitable was outrun by Wesley Ward’s Lady Aurelia in the King’s Stand Stakes.
Last year’s Queen Mary winner powered to a three-length triumph with John Velazquez barely moving as she extended her lead in the closing stages over the Godolphin runner.
In the absence of Frankie Dettori, who has failed to recover from injury, Velazquez was parachuted into the ride aboard Lady Aurelia. It was Velazquez’s first winner at the five-day meeting since he partnered Ward’s first winner in 2009.
“It was a great feeling,” Velazquez said. “When a horse travels so beautifully and responds right away you can’t ask better than that. For me this is a blessing. Not to take anything away from Frankie, he is a good friend of mine.”
Godolphin wrapped up the day with three winners when Charlie Appleby’s Sound And Silence beat stable companion Roussel in the Windsor Castle Stakes
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