In Ribchester and Profitable, UAE owners well-stocked for five-day Royal Ascot meeting

Ribchester with William Buick wins the Jersey Stakes at Royal Ascot Race Course on June 15, 2016. Getty Images

It is 11 years since Christian Wroe dispatched the last Royal Ascot runner to be trained in the UAE when Edwin Landseer took part in the 2006 Wokingham Handicap. It is a lost art, it seems. Godolphin and Mike de Kock aside, Satish Seemar is the only other UAE-based trainer to have had a runner at the royal meeting: Desert Glow in the 2003 Hampton Court Stakes.

The horses are clearly good enough – Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid’s smart sprinter Ertijaal would be rated only behind Lady Aurelia in Tuesday’s King’s Stand Stakes, for instance. He would have his preferred rattling fast ground, too, after sun-kissed week in Britain.

That said, the UAE will be amply represented across the five-day meeting that starts on Tuesday and here are five horses to keep an eye on carrying the silks of UAE owners across the week.

(Horse name – owner – race – day)

Ribchester – Godolphin – Queen Anne Stakes – Tuesday:

John Ferguson has left Godolphin, but Ribchester provides a reminder to all that he bought some smart horses in training for the Dubai-based operation. Trained in Yorkshire in the north of England by Richard Fahey, the four-year-old colt is the best miler in training in Europe. He may have fluffed his lines when not staying 1,800 metres in rain-softened ground on Dubai World Cup night, but he showed his class when hammering his rivals in the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury last month. That would not have been the strongest Group 1 contest, but neither is Tuesday’s and he should win.

Profitable – Godolphin – King's Stand Stakes – Tuesday:

Profitable won the premier Group 1 sprint over 1,000 metres 12 months ago and appears to have been pushed out of the limelight by Wesley Ward’s Lady Aurelia. Profitable went off the boil following his Royal Ascot triumph last season but had excuses for all three lacklustre efforts and made a solid comeback behind French raider Signs Of Blessing at Deauville last month. One for the shortlist.

Sheikhzayedroad – Mohammed Jaber – Gold Cup – Thursday:

Any horse named after Dubai’s main traffic artery needs a mention, particularly when it is a runner as hardy and gutsy as this one.

Although an eight-year-old Sheikhzayedroad could have more improvement to come over staying distances, having raced only twice beyond 3,200 metres. He was left gasping for air in the fumes left behind by Order Of St George when third in last season’s 4,000-metre Gold Cup. Sheikhzayedroad obtained his revenge on Order Of St George with beneficial race conditions in October, which sets up Thursday’s rematch perfectly.

Harry Angel – Godolphin – Commonwealth Cup – Friday:

Harry Angel was no match for Godolphin’s Blue Point at Ascot giving him weight in May. Trained by Clive Cox, the lightly-raced colt has more scope for improvement, however, and could easily turn the tables having smashed the track record at Haydock three weeks ago. Coolmore’s Caravaggio and Wesley Ward’s Bound For Nowhere look tough opposition.

Tasleet – Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid – Diamond Jubilee – Saturday:

Despite his no-show in Dubai on World Cup night Limato looks very hard to beat in the final Group 1 race of the meeting on Saturday. That said, Sheikh Hamdan’s Tasleet is an improving colt who seems to have put behind him his fair share of problems. His victory at York last month was achieved despite the soft ground, and he showed a devastating turn of foot that day. With ground conditions in his favour, and improvement likely, he is a real player.

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