Royal Ascot 2024 day four review & replays

Godmother sprinkles fairy dust on Ascot

Fairy Godmother (15/8 favourite) produced a sparkling display to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot.

The word was out that there was plenty of confidence behind the Ballydoyle filly and she was well backed despite Aidan O’Brien’s juveniles not quite hitting the mark on the first three days.

Ryan Moore had her nicely settled in midfield but the field bunched together and he soon found himself short of racing room. Fairy Godmother didn’t appear to be going anywhere quickly as stablemate Heavens Gate kicked from the front with market rival Mountain Breeze in pursuit.

Moore had to switch markedly towards the stands’ side to find racing room and Fairy Godmother picked up smartly once in the clear to cut down Heavens Gate and the fast-finishing Simmering who claimed second.

The winning distances were three quarters of a length and a neck.

They say good horses make good jockeys and Moore gave all the credit to Fairy Godmother, telling ITV Racing: “I gave her an impossible task and she got me out of a hole.

“I wanted to be towards the stands’ side a little bit, the best horses were there. We didn’t go mad, we had all the horses in front of me and around me and it was incredible that she was able to win from that position so all credit to her. Down at the start she looked different class, she suggested that before she ran, and when she won last time. Today, that was a big performance.”

Paddy Power cut Fairy Godmother to 5/1 from 12/1 for the 2025 1000 Guineas at Newmarket.

Fairy Godmother was following a tried and tested path to Royal Ascot having won the Group 3 Sprint Stakes at Naas in May, just like the two previous Albany winners Porta Fortuna and Meditate, a performance which impressed owner Michael Tabor.

“I saw her run last time and I said to Aidan at the time, when you see that turn of foot, which she obviously has, you know she’s a good animal,” he said. “Today, she just showed how good she was. We have many horses, we’ve had some good horses, some fantastic horses and hopefully she’s in the category of a fantastic horse because they are the things you look forward to.”

Moore may have been critical of himself but his trainer was full of praise, saying: “She’s an incredible filly, isn’t she? We thought she couldn’t get beat the first day, and couldn’t believe she got beat. Ryan said he was just going to teach her and educate her the next day, and take his time on her, and she did the same thing – he came from an impossible position and won well on the line. What she did there is incredible, and she’s only going to get better with every race, she’ll get stronger and will stay. She’s very exciting.

“Ryan was super-cool on her. He was worried where he was drawn that he had no cover, which is why he was going to take his time, come over and come back, which is easier said than done, but he did it. I’d say he was organising and trying to get her over, get her over, get her over, but it’s a very difficult thing to do. It’s difficult to do that, and everything not going right, and still have her when you want her. He was brilliant.

“Ryan said he thought she was going to be a Moyglare filly, so seven would be no problem for her this year. She’s obviously exceptional. Our other filly, Heaven’s Gate, ran a stormer. We thought she was a good filly. For her to pick them up like that was incredible, really.”

Stroll in the Common

Inisherin (9/4 favourite) repaid his supplementary fee and some with a straightforward success in the Commonwealth Cup.

Connections stumped up £46,000 to allow the Shamardal colt to line up in the Group One and he was all the rage in the market following his impressive performance in the Sandy Lane Stakes at Haydock.

Settled towards the flank of the pack but always close to the pace, there were no concerns for Tom Eaves who got an immediate and decisive response when he asked Inisherin to go about his business.

Lake Forest came through late for second with the slow starting Jasour in third. Kind Of Blue finished fourth, running a mighty race after only two career starts, both in novice races. The winning distances were two and a quarter lengths and a head.

Inisherin had finished sixth in the 2000 Guineas prior to Haydock and owner Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum trainer Kevin Ryan told him ‘he would make a very good sprinter’ straight after the classic, The owner confirmed that both Inisherin and his St James’s Palace winner Rosallion would both remain in training next year.

Ryan added: “He’s very good. The great thing about him is he’s got such a great temperament, he’s just an absolute pleasure to train. We’ll go for the July Cup now, possibly the Maurice de Gheest and Champions Day back here.”

Eaves said: “He’s a machine. I’m very lucky to be on him. A big thank you to Sheikh Mohamed Obaid and Kevin Ryan. I’ve ridden some good sprinters, the last one being Glass Slippers, and you think well, you have to find another one. Tangerine Trees, Brando, they’ve all been very good but we all know how hard they are to come across.

“Fair play for keeping me on him, a massive thanks to everyone. Megan, who rides him at home and Steve the head lad. He’s a unit of a horse, you see how long it took me to pull up. He’s got a lot of class. He’s quick and when I got off him after the Guineas before I had even opened my mouth, Kevin said he was a sprinter.”

Paddy Power make Inisherin their 5/2 favourite from 10/1 for the July Cup at Newmarket.

They might not get home for a while

There were wild scenes in the paddock after Crystal Black (11/1) had come home with a late rattle to win the Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes.

Owners Wear A Pink Syndicate had enjoyed quite the ride with Crystal Black since he had been bought out of Dermot Weld’s yard as he’d won four of six starts this season, climbing two stone in the handicap.

Colin Keane, riding for his father Gerard, admitted that had been a concern, saying: “He’s done a lot of winning so we weren’t sure if he’d done too much with him but he was probably a group horse in a handicap!

“That must have been the biggest kick I’ve got out of riding a winner. I can’t put it into words what this means for my father, but it’s a very special day.”

There were five in a line around a furlong from home, including the short-priced favourite Ethical Diamond, but Crystal Black, racing down the outside left them trailing in his wake.

He pulled two and a quarter lengths clear of Epic Poet but there was just a neck back to Ziggy and a head to Ethical Diamond and three more rivals hot on their heels in a competitive handicap.

The jockey expanded on the performance after unsaddling, saying: “It’s the most emotional I’ve felt about riding a winner. It’s very special riding one for my father at Royal Ascot, and a great bunch of owners. They might not get home for a while, to be honest, but they’re dead right.

“He’s improved from run to run. We thought he’d get a mile and a half the way he was finishing over a mile and a quarter; he seems to be a horse that the longer he’s on the bridle, the better he travels, and he can quicken. He’s just very progressive. Coming over here, we said if it was good to firm we wouldn’t run, but I’ve been riding him out all week in the mornings and I couldn’t believe how well he moved on it.

“At home he can just win a neck or head and has kept on the right side of the handicapper, thankfully. You’d imagine he’d have to move up to Group level now.

“Dad only has a small number of horses, and we’re mainly a breaking and pre-training yard now, so to have a horse like him in the yard is brilliant.”

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