Royal Ascot – The Sire Angle

With Royal Ascot upon us again, many punters are beginning to look for the key to predicting the winners of some exciting and competitive racing over the next five days. While some will follow recent form or trainer and jockey statistics, another area of interest is in the breeding lines of the horses and, in particular, their sire statistics. Successful horses can earn large amounts of money during their career but it is in racehorse breeding where the real earning potential can lie. Successful stallions can carry stud fees well into six figures, as breeders and owners aim for continued success through the bloodline with their progeny. With this is mind, looking at the statistics of some of the top sires and, in particular, how well both they and their progeny have performed at Royal Ascot, could highlight some horses to watch out for this week. 

Horses To Watch

Sire – Royal Applause (£41.13 profit)

Coventry Stakes (3.05pm Tuesday)
Age Of Empire (20/1)

Queen Mary Stakes (3.05pm Wednesday)
Ring Of Truth (14/1)

Albany Stakes (2.30pm Friday)
First Party (20/1)

Sire – Galileo (£29.86 profit)

St James’s Palace Stakes (4.20pm Tuesday)
Gleneagles (4/6)

Coronation Stakes (4.20pm Friday)
Found (2/1)

Hardwicke Stakes (3.40pm Saturday)
Telescope (11/8)

Kyllachy (£56.07 profit)

King’s Stand Stakes (3.40pm Tuesday)
Sole Power (7/2)

Wokingham Stakes (5.00pm Saturday)
Kimberella (66/1)

Note: All Profit numbers are to £1 stakes for all runners at Ascot since 2008, on ground Good to Soft, Good & Good to Firm (the three most likely goings for Royal Ascot this year).

The Full Low-Down

Royal Applause

One sire of interest is Royal Applause. Unbeaten as a two-year-old, including victory in the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot, He was named as European Sprinter of the Year in 1997 and has gone on to sire the winners of over 700 races, including over 15 Group 1 races. With his natural speed, Royal Applause has proven most effective as a sire of sprinters with the Racing Post bloodstock profile for Royal Applause commenting that he has ‘a very good record with 2 year olds over 5-6f’. With these statistics in mind, and a £41.13 profit to level stakes on his relevant runners, there are some two-year-old progeny making their first appearance at Royal Ascot this week that may well offer some value.

In Tuesday’s Coventry Stakes, Richard Hannon saddles Age of Empire. Seventh of eleven runners on his racecourse debut over 5f at Newmarket at the start of May, he then won impressively over 6f at York and goes into the Coventry as a 20/1 shot as he looks to emulate his sire’s winning performance of twenty years ago.

On Wednesday, Hannon again has a Royal Applause runner with Ring of Truth featuring in the Queen Mary Stakes. A short-head defeat on her racecourse debut over 5f was followed up with victory in a Maiden Fillies Stakes at Haydock over 6f at the end of May – Hannon will be hoping that the filly can give him his first ever Queen Mary winner. Ring of Truth is currently available to back at 14/1 for victory.

One final Royal Applause runner of interest is First Party who is entered in the Albany Stakes on Friday. Trained by Mark Johnston, First Party was impressive when making a winning racecourse debut over 5f at Nottingham at the end of May. Staying on well over the minimum distance, Johnston will be confident that his filly will have no problem with the step up to 6f at Royal Ascot and she is a best price 20/1 at present.

Galileo

Galileo was a prolific Group 1 winner, winning both the Epsom Derby and the Irish Derby in 2001. Although not a winner at Royal Ascot, Galileo was victorious at the course when winning the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes at Ascot also in 2001. Retired to stud at the end of 2001, Galileo is perhaps best known as being the sire of the highest rated horse in history Frankel, who himself was a dual Royal Ascot winner having won both the Queen Anne Stakes and the St James’s Palace Stakes during his unbeaten career. Aside from Frankel, Galileo has also produced a Royal Ascot winner in the shape of Lush Lashes who won the 2008 Coronation Stakes. With a profit figure of £29.86 to level stakes on his Ascot runners, Galileo has three progeny of interest running this week, two of whom are making their Royal Ascot debut.

Trainer O’Brien will also be hoping that his filly Found can run well in Friday’s Coronation Stakes. This daughter of Galileo was beaten into second place in the Irish 1000 Guineas only after finding trouble in running and is 9/4 to make amends in the Coronation Stakes.

Finally, Telescope is the 11/8 favourite for the Hardwicke Stakes on Saturday. The Sir Michael Stoute five-year old is looking to repeat his success of 12 months ago when he was an emphatic winner of the race by seven lengths. Over the one mile four furlongs that his sire Galileo was so successful over, Telescope could again take all the beating.

Kyllachy

One final sire with impressive profit figures from his Royal Ascot runners is Kyllachy. The son of Pivotal who won the 1996 Kings Stand, Kyllachy was an unlucky 3rd in the 2002 King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot but has gone on to sire a number of winners and with an Ascot profit of £56.07 to level stakes on all his Ascot runners, his progeny are certainly ones to monitor.

Sole Power is the 9/2 favourite for this years King Stand’s Stakes having won the race for the past two years. This son of Kyllachy is a multiple group 1 winner over both 5f and 6f and will be well supported on Tuesday to make it a hat-trick of King’s Stand successes.

In Saturdays Wokingham, the Dandy Nicholls trained Kimberella is an interesting entrant. This son of Kyllachy was last seen at the end of May when finishing a closing fourth in a competitive large field, five furlong, York handicap. With all three career victories coming over six furlongs, the step back up in trip in Saturday’s Wokingham will be of no inconvenience. It will be Kimberella’s first run at Ascot and it will interesting see if he can show form at the course that his breeding suggests. Kimberella is a best price 66/1 and offers some fantastic each-way value.