Horse Racing: Miss Scorches Home As Aussies Prove Kings of the Sprinters

Between them, Australia's four runners in the King's Stand Stakes here yesterday had traveled 42,000 miles to be at Ascot, but the long haul will seem a little less arduous on the way back with at least £155,000 in the overhead lockers.

Miss Andretti, Magnus and Takeover Target finished first, third and fourth in yesterday's sprint - Bentley Biscuit, the fourth member of the party, was jarred up on the ground as he trailed in last - and removed any lingering doubt that Australia is a match for any continent in the world when it comes to producing lightning-fast horses.

Miss Andretti thundered down the five furlongs nearly three seconds faster than Takeover Target 12 months ago, and while the ground was certainly riding fast, she looked a class apart from both her fellow travelers and the local sprinters from the moment the stalls opened.

The winner's reputation as the best of a very strong raiding party had preceded her and she was sent off favorite at 3-1, having been available at twice those odds less than a week ago. She was briefly quoted at 7-2 afterwards for the Golden Jubilee Stakes here on Saturday but that did not last long and you will do well to get more than 2-1 this morning.

Lee Freedman, Miss Andretti's trainer, prepared another mare, Makybe Diva, to win two of her three Melbourne Cups, but admitted afterwards that yesterday's win gave him as much pleasure as any in his career. "That was why we brought her over, we wanted the world to see how good she is," Freedman said. "That was an awesome display. We have come a very long way with her and it was a massive gamble and it was marvelous just to come here and compete.

"I like to be modest but I wasn't surprised the way she won in the end. I've always wanted to win a Group One race in Europe but I've never had the support of the owners, so I'm very grateful to everyone connected with her."

Yesterday's race, as it happens, is a Group Two, in name at least, though it surely deserves elevated status now that it is such a regular target for Australia's finest. "She will go back to the paddocks now for a couple of days," Freedman added, "and she won't even have a saddle on her. She'll tell us if she wants to run in the [Group One] Golden Jubilee."

Even after traveling so far to win a major race, though, Freedman was not an automatic choice for the training performance of the day, as Aidan O'Brien saddled three horses in the Group One St James's Palace Stakes and they duly filled the frame, as Excellent Art beat Duke Of Marmalade and Astronomer Royal. Cockney Rebel, the winner of both the English and Irish 2,000 Guineas and the evens favourite yesterday, was back in fifth after hanging badly left in the closing stages.

John Magnier, who effectively owns a major share in all three of yesterday's runners, pulled a scrap of paper from his pocket in the winner's enclosure afterwards which he said was O'Brien's personal prediction of his best winning chances this week.

Excellent Art, as Magnier pointed out, was number three on the list, ahead of both of his other two runners in yesterday's race (although George Washington, beaten in the Queen Anne Stakes, was number two). On top of the list, meanwhile was Dylan Thomas, who just happens to be the second-favorite for the Prince of Wales's Stakes at 3.45pm this afternoon.

"That was quite a training performance," Magnier said. "He was a bit unlucky in [the French 2,000 Guineas at Longchamp] last time and I guess he was the unknown horse in the race."

Geoff Huffer, Cockney Rebel's trainer, may now look for a path that avoids racing around bends. "He tends to hang left, we don't know why," he said. "We'll look at going back to a straight track with him and think about the Jacques le Marois [at Deauville]."

O'Brien had already saddled the first winner of the meeting, Henrythenavigator, who is now as short as 5-1 for the 2,000 Guineas next spring. "It's a long way to the Guineas but we've always hoped that he might be that type of horse," O'Brien said. "He's always worked like an exciting horse at home and has stood out, but we do have some later-maturing types to come through.

"He's won over seven but he's always had a lot of natural speed so the drop back to six was no problem. He traveled well but he knuckled down well and there are a lot of choices about where we go now."

Ron Cox's tip of the day


US Ranger 2.30 Royal Ascot

Back to seven furlongs and from what looks to be a good draw, US Ranger can confirm the promise of his fine run in the 2,000 Guineas. Despite being rather isolated towards the far side of the course, this French colt showed a nice turn of foot to show ahead with a furlong to run before fading to finish seventh. He has a 3lb pull for half a length with the Guineas sixth, Major Cadeaux.