Royal Ascot 2011-Nathaniel wins King Edwards VII Stakes, favourite for St. Legers
The King Edwards VII Stakes was the second race of Day Four of the Royal Ascot 2011.
Originally called the Ascot Derby Stakes, this Group 2 race was open to three your old colts and geldings only. This year’s race comprised a small field of eleven horses only, including Nathaniel, Mijhaar, Glen's Diamond, World Domination, Genius Beast,
Alexander Pope, Fiorente, Fulgur, Hurricane Higgins, Glencadam Gold, and, Dordogne.
Prior to the race, speculation as to the outcome of the race was soaring high. John Gosden’s Nathaniel was the 11/4 favourite for the race, while 9/2 Mijhaar was second favourite. The betting odds for the rest of the field were as follows:
8/1 World Domination, 10/1 Glen's Diamond, 9/1 Fiorente, 12/1 Genius Beast, 12/1 Alexander Pope, 16/1 Fulgur, 25/1 Hurricane Higgins, 33/1 Glencadam Gold, and, 40/1 Dordogne.
The race begun at 3:05 pm (GMT), with Nathaniel leading the field of eleven well ahead of the others. Hurricane Higgins was going strong but soon enough Henry Cecil’s World Domination started leading the pack.
World Domination was chased by Fiorente under Ryan Moore, who ran the first three furlongs under the trees, followed by Neil Callan, on, Mijhaar.
Fiorente and World Domination were almost together when Nathaniel under William Buick picked up the pace and joined them. The three led the front but John Gosden’s Nathaniel got hold of the front and was the clear winner by five lengths.
Fiorente under R L Moore finished second, two lengths ahead of Alexander Pope ridden by C O'Donoghue, who finished in third place.
After the victory John Gosden said,“He (Nathaniel) is a nice horse, he loved the ground and he stayed well…the jockey (William Buick) pointed him in the right direction”.
Jockey William Buick said:
"The sweating had no effect on him. He just wants to get on with it and that is just him.He loves the ground, he stays well and the only thing was that I won a bit too far”.
Meanwhile, racing manager, James Wigan, said that although soft ground is not essential for Nathaniel he does not like firm ground very much. He feels that Nathaniel is now capable of winning a short-distance Group 1 race too.
Meanwhile, Fiorente’s trainer, Sir Michael Stoute, said he was pleased with Fiorente even though he wanted to join the pack often during the race.
This victory has made Nathaniel one of the favourites for St. Leger. Future possibilities for Nathaniel also include the Geoffrey Freer Stakes at Newbury, The Voltigeur at York and the Irish Derby.
Prior to this victory too, Nathaniel had an impressive racing career. He had run four races of which, he had won one, and, places second in the other three. One hopes that he continues to perform well at the upcoming races. For now all one can say though
is that he is a talent worth noticing.
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