Royal Ascot: Dermot Weld admits unlikely passage campaigned

Royal Ascot gold cup hero rite, Dermot Weld has admits it is unlikely the passenger will be campaigned over hurdles this season. At the Cheltenham Festival, Rite Of Passage six years old has won two of his three outings end timber

Dermot Weld trainer said, "He's here at Rosewell House and is in great form. He was a bit stiff and sore after he won the Gold Cup so we gave him time out and he came back nicely. We were going to go for the Melbourne Cup but then we decided we'd give him a bit more time and we've yet to decide whether we go hurdling with him this winter. It would appear less likely and obviously we'd like to have a crack at winning another Gold Cup at Royal Ascot.'

Melbourne Cup won the Profound Beauty in 2008 but in this year replacement failed to figure for which has been retired from racing.

At the races Weld told, "She's been retired honourably to stud and she's been a wonderful mare to train. She's been so consistent. A mile and a half to a mile and six (furlongs) was her trip, which is why we thought she would be a suitable Melbourne Cup horse. If she can breed horses with the courage that she had and they have her will to win, there's going to be some very good horses from her".

Royal Ascot for punters hits profits at William Hill

The World Cup William Hill hailed as one of the best for bookmakers in living memory, but lamented a bumper Royal Ascot for punters who had the added bonus of some fine weather, above.
Group revenues were 3pc higher than last year and the firm expects to report underlying half year profits of £135m, marginally up on last year’s £134.6m.
Chief executive Ralph Topping said the World Cup had been one of the best for bookmakers in 40 years.
He attributed this to the fact that Spain attracted fewer backers than expected after losing their first game. the bookmaker’s online division saw rapid growth, with net revenues up 24pc and operating profit 43pc higher than in the previous year.

But the group’s high street take was hit by a difficult Ascot for bookies, as a succession of favourites charged home.

Royal Ascot: Rainfall can follow up to win in Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket

At Winbledon Had Royal Ascot been a match, the score would have been 6-0, 6-1, 6-0 to the punters. Bookmakers emerged from that meeting claiming that it had been their worst in living memory, so prescient was the market from one day to the next, and the July meeting at Newmarket, which opens today, is the best opportunity since for backers to inflict some more sustained punishment.
With money racegoers too this fixture is a special favourite, as the thatch of the July course is much more welcoming than the glass and concrete of the Rowley Mile grandstand. For all the mood of anticipation, though, it is worth recalling that last year's meeting opened with victory for a 66-1 opportunity, and that the bookies seldom have two bad festivals in a row. Many punters will place their faith in Aidan O'Brien in the Falmouth Stakes, and with his stable now racking up Group One winners with something like its normal frequency, his Lillie Langtry seems sure to start favourite for this intriguing meeting of the generations.
Older horses have taken half of the six renewals of this race since it was promoted to Group One status in 2004, though there is nothing of the calibre of Goldikova, last year's winner, in this field. Strawberrydaiquiri looks to be their main hope this time, but a narrow defeat of Spacious in at Royal Ascot still gives her something to find.
Lillie Langtry and Special Duty both have obvious chances, but their odds reflect that, and it must be a concern that the latter has twice required the stewards' intervention to achieve the status of a dual Classic winner. The price is what matters most in any race, and when looking for a filly whose chance may have been underestimated, it is Rainfall (3.10) that makes most appeal. She was fast-tracked to victory in a Group Two at the Royal meeting just six weeks after winning a maiden at Thirsk, and will not require much further progress to advance beyond her peers.
Richard Hughes suggested before Ascot that "we can't have all the best two-year-olds in the (Richard Hannon) yard", but Hannon may have rather more of them than his jockey realized, and Memory (2.35), the Albany Stakes winner, will be difficult to beat in the Cherry Hinton. The handicaps look treacherous, but Strictly Dancing (1.30) and the progressive Kelly's Eye (2.00) may both have a pound or two in hand of their ratings.

At Royal Ascot David Hayes has high hopes for Nicconi

David Hayes has high hopes for Nicconi at Royal Ascot is well schooled in the ways of British racing. At the time he may not have realised, but his father, the late Colin Hayes, had instilled in his son from an early age a deep respect for the patient training methods of Vincent O’Brien, Noel Murless and Dick Hern.
To Europe David Hayes senior was a frequent visitor in the 1960s. Each year, when returning home to South Australia, he would try to introduce ideas he had picked up on his travels. One huge influence had been the variety of gallops he had seen at Newmarket, in particular Warren Hill.
So, when it came time for Colin Hayes to build and develop Lindsay Park, his own private training centre and stud farm at Angaston, 72 miles out of Adelaide, the British experience was put into practice. Forty years ago, Hayes was seen as a revolutionary in setting up away from the mainstream metropolitan tracks. He proved to be years ahead of his time.
David Hayes, 47, has built on those foundations, establishing himself in his own right internationally, having sent out the winners of the Melbourne Cup, Caulfield Cup (twice), Cox Plate (three), Golden Slipper, Japan Cup, Hong Kong Derby, and having twice been champion trainer in Hong Kong during a 10-year stint in the former British colony.
He brings to the first day of Royal Ascot a well-credentialled sprinter, Nicconi, who attempts to follow great Australian sprinters Choisir, Takeover Target, Miss Andretti and Scenic Blast by winning the five-furlong King’s Stand Stakes, almost four and a half months after tasting victory in the Lightning Stakes at Flemington.
Just why the Lightning, which is another "straight five", should have had such a bearing on what has taken place at the Royal Meeting on the other side of the world, actually defies logic. Arguably, there are other races just as noteworthy Down Under, but it has definitely been the most accurate pointer to Ascot triumph.
“I think it is the timing of the racing, and where it fits into the racing calendar,” Hayes explains. “It comes at the end of January, just when some of the classy [middle-distance] types are coming back to campaign – you can have Derby winners resuming after a spell – and even a top sprinter has to have a certain amount of class to win it.”
Hayes reckons Nicconi is every bit as good as the aforementioned sprinters, but qualifies that statement by adding “on his day.” The five-year-old has a tendency to throw in the occasional “shocker”, hence the move to fit a visor for the first time in Tuesday’s race.
“I think it will make a difference. It should make him just that bit sharper on the big day. We tried him in the visor in an exhibition gallop [an unnofficial trial between races] at Caulfield [Melbourne] before he left to come over, and his sectional times were exceptional. If he can produce that again, he’ll just about win it. We’re quietly confident,” he adds.
The booking of Frankie Dettori is in keeping with Hayes’s policy of looking for a local when travelling horses abroad. His thinking is that once the jockey in question has become accustomed to his mount – during morning exercise – the rest will come easy. He recognises that no favours are given visiting jockeys, yet a certain respect prevails when riders are competing against each other on a daily basis.
“Also, I’m a big Frankie fan. I’ve known him a long time and he’s a good friend. And, nobody knows Ascot better than Dettori,” he adds.
Kingsgate Native, recent winner of the Temple Stakes at Haydock Park, and winner of the Golden Jubilee Stakes at the Royal meeting two years ago, looks the big danger to the Australian challenge, which is strengthened by the addition of speedster Gold Trail. For David Hayes, it is another chance to bask in the international spotlight.

Sees a rise in ticket sales Royal Ascot 2010

"I think we will have a slightly bigger crowd than last year," he said.
"In January we were slightly concerned as numbers were down on previous years but it has picked up.
"We are now sold out in the grandstand and silver ring for Saturday. While enclosures are sold out we still have space for people on the heath."
This will be Barnett's fourth Royal Ascot and he said that even though corporate sales were up on last years figures, they will not be as good as 2007 or 2008.
But he was still pleased overall with ticket sales for the event despite the competing attraction of the World Cup.
"The market is not going down anymore and it is maybe picking up slightly. Box occupancy is still pretty good and we have a lot of people coming for hospitality too which is great," he said.
Last year the Saturday of Royal Ascot drew record crowds of nearly 80,000. Barnett will be hoping to exceed that number this year.