Baaeed made it eight unbeaten with victory in Tuesday's Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot; Frankie Dettori criticised by trainer John Gosden for Gold Cup ride on Stradivarius as pair finished third; Nature Strip impressive in King's Stand win
Sunday 19 June 2022 19:45, UK
Royal Ascot 2022 really had it all with international superstars, breakthrough successes and jockey controversy, kicking off in style with Baaeed's brilliance in the Queen Anne Stakes.
William Haggas' four-year-old, billed before the race as the world's best horse currently in training, extended his unbeaten record to eight with a one-and-three-quarter-length victory over Real World, the same rival he beat by three lengths in the Lockinge earlier this year.
Baaeed's victory lacked a little of the 'wow' factor many had expected, as did Coroebus' in the St James's Palace on the same day, leaving question marks over the quality of this season's crop of three-year-olds.
The performance of the week award undoubtedly went instead to Australian raider Nature Strip, who demolished the field in Tuesday's King's Stand Stakes.
It is rare that Franke Dettori fails to make the headlines, although he will not have enjoyed the write-ups following Thursday's Gold Cup as his ride on third-placed Stradivarius came under scrutiny from all angles, including the horse's trainer John Gosden.
Racing expert Kevin Blake joined Sky Sports Racing's Matt Chapman on the Racing Debate to discuss their thoughts on a dramatic week at the Royal meeting…
Kevin Blake…
"He is the real deal. I don't think this was his best day by any means because it didn't need to be and we knew he was better than that lot.
"We were hoping for something spectacular and he put together a really strong performance without being spectacular.
"His biggest days are ahead of him and he's quite possibly the best horse on the planet at the minute. We can't wait to see him in even deeper water where we can get a better idea of just how great he is."
Matt Chapman…
"Beating Real World might not blow everyone away but on Turf he is a very hard horse to beat and there was a Breeders' Cup Mile winner [Order Of Australia] beaten six lengths in third.
"You would have liked Baaeed to win by four or five, rather than one or two, so I think he is really, really good over a mile, but he might be a 'worldie' over a mile-and-a-quarter.
"He's the outstanding horse at a mile, but not world class. To have a world-class horse they have to be rated 130+.
"Baaeed might be one of the best horses in the world but he's not a Frankel or one of the greats of all time. He's needs to go up about four or five lbs and that might come over a mile-and-a-quarter."
MC…
"This was an absolutely world-class performance and he clearly won't be rated 124 after that.
"His time was incredible - 1.1 second above standard - and it was without doubt the performance of the meeting.
"If they rate him now above 130 then he is one of the greats of all time. Without doubt, Nature Strip is the best horse on planet earth now."
KB…
"The runner-up was rated 110, the third was rated 104 so you can't rate him much higher than 124 now. You've got to look at the evidence before making big statements, otherwise it might look a bit silly."
KB…
"I think it's fair to attach a high level of scrutiny to the three-year-olds because we're getting to the time of year where they're about to jump into older company.
"Native Trail and Coroebus, in their subsequent performances from Newmarket, have been underwhelming based on the high expectations they had from their two-year-old campaigns.
"Coroebus was very underwhelming. I've loved the horse all along but this was disappointing. He was free with William Buick and when he got a really fortunate gap on the inside I was hoping he'd pick up and put the race to bed very well.
"Maljoom [fourth] was the best horse on the day and might well be the best horse in the fullness of time because what he did from the position he came from was genuinely remarkable. Cieren Fallon didn't do a whole lot wrong, the race just didn't pan out for him.
"If he goes for the Sussex Stakes I think he'll take an awful lot of beating.
"It'll be interesting to see what they do with Baaeed because there's been the obvious talk about going up in trip and then all of a sudden it throws that division wide open."
MC…
"This was not the ideal set-up for Coroebus but he still won so I don't think you can criticise him for that.
"For all that there is lots to take out of the race, you can't deny that there are six horses within about a length of each other so is there a big question mark about that form?"
KB…
"What probably wound up John Gosden was he had jumped well into the position that he did and it wasn't a terrible spot but Frankie seemed to make a conscious decision to drop back. I'm not sure what the thought process was.
"John Gosden might have preferred him to keep the revs up on Stradivarius so that when the pace did cross he wouldn't be shuffled back too much.
"I can see why Frankie would be upset with himself. It's highly unusual for a top trainer to be so publicly critical and a bit patronising with the 'our hero' stuff. Who knows what that relationship is like at the minute?"
MC…
"He should've won. Frankie came back as if he hadn't done anything wrong and said that the horse wasn't as good as he once was.
"Blaming the horse when the majority watching the race felt it was the jockey was a very bad play from Dettori.
"Dettori is a world-class jockey but that was a bad ride."
