Poet’s Voice for Queen Elizabeth II Stakes
With only six rides on the card at Ascot, Frankie Dettori can forget a reprise of his “magnificent seven” for another year.
But the Italian can have a bumper day including the main race, the Group One Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, for a fifth time on Poet’s Voice.
Godolphin have always thought a lot of this colt, who won the Group Two Champagne Stakes at Doncaster last year, but the battle has been to get the colt thinking on the right wavelength. He was running far too free in his races but has been taught to settle on the gallops and transferred that to the racecourse when he won the Group Two Celebration Mile at Goodwood last month.
The ground is riding soft which may well be against Rip Van Winkle as he attempts to become only the third horse to win this race in successive years – after Brigadier Gerard and Rose Bowl – but he is unlikely to be at his best with cut in the ground.
That should be no problem for Makfi, the 2000 Guineas and Prix Jacques le Marois winner, whose flop in the St James’s Palace Stakes at the royal meeting was put down to a throat infection. The question over whether the colt will be happy back at the same course after that experience and on a turning track – all his best form has come on straight miles – may prove to be irrelevant but, at the likely price, the improving Poet’s Voice looks the value alternative.
Dettori does not have a ride in the Group Two Juddmonte Royal Lodge Stakes, where Frankel looks impossible to oppose. Henry Cecil’s colt is taking a big step up in class from his win at Doncaster two weeks ago but the way he left a 90-rated horse 17 lengths behind in third suggests that Frankel could be something special.
On the same card Dettori rode the Godolphin filly White Moonstone to win the Group Two May Hill Stakes. The performance may not have been quite as visually impressive as Frankel but this unbeaten daughter of Dynaformer became market leader for next season’s 1000 Guineas on the strength of it and can confirm that status by winning the Group One Meon Valley Stud Fillies’ Mile.
Last week Dettori rode Redford to win the Ayr Gold Cup and the gelding can defy a 6lb penalty for that easy win in the totesport.com Challenge Cup.
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