Ballarat trainer Henry Dwyer sending Asfoora to Royal Ascot
Ballarat trainer Henry Dwyer with his superstar sprinting mare Asfoora. The five-year-old has been invited to compete at Royal Ascot in June. Picture by Kate Healy
THERE'S a certain pomp and pageantry that accompanies the Royal Ascot races in June.
It's the one time of the year where the top hats and tails come out as the royal family descends on a beautiful patch of turf just west of Heathrow Airport near London.
Founded in 1711, 77 years before Australian was colonised, and having officially become the 'Royal Week' in June since 1911, Royal Ascot holds an almost mythical place in the hearts and minds of trainers, punters and racegoers across the globe.
This year, Ballarat could see one of its own grace the royal turf for the first time in the King's Stand Stakes on the opening day of the carnival, with the Henry Dwyer-trained Asfoora having received a coveted invite.
Dwyer knows he's got a special horse on his hands, a multiple group winner, an incredibly unlucky second placing in the Group 1 Moir Stakes at Moonee Valley - a race where she ran a course record, only to be beaten by another course record - and arguably one of the best two sprinting horses in the country.
If all goes to plan for the five-year-old this year, she will chase her first group one in February. She will start her campaign in the Rubiton Stakes over 1100m, with a goal of winning her first major feature in the Oakleigh Plate on February 24. Both races are at her favourite circuit, Caulfeld.
If that goes well, she will then embark on an international season, beginning with Royal Ascot over 1006m on June 18 or 19, depending on when the racedays are finalised.
Asfoora ridden by Mitchell Aitken wins the Metcap Finance Schillaci Stakes at Caulfield Racecourse on October 14. Picture by Scott Barbour/Racing Photos
Asfoora is one of those true rags to riches tales. She was passed in at the sales for a $30,000 price tag "because nobody wanted her". She is owned by the Noor Elaine Farm Pty Ltd. That $30,000 figure has paid back many times over, having won in-excess of $1.2 million in just 15 starts, which have included eight wins.
Miners Rest trainer Henry Dwyer, himself a group one winning trainer, most notably the 2014 Queensland Derby with Sonntag, knows he has a good one.
"There wasn't much people liked about her and here she is, she's turned into a world class sprinter, not many that are no good make more than $1 million," he said.
"I'll be honest, I also didn't think much of her at the sales, but the owner asked me to inspect her, she was very immature, very backward, she just needed a bit of time I think.
The king and queen will be in attendance at this year's Royal Ascot when it is hoped a Ballarat-trained star might take home the major sprint prize. Picture by Getty Images
"She's a little bit highly strung, but you find that is often the case with sprinters. By and large she's always been okay, she's certainly matured a bit with age, she's a lot better now than she was."
Dwyer said there was no way of telling if a horse will make it or not when you first see them. When asked if a strong hind end similar to Black Caviar was a key - which when you see Asfoora up close, she certainly has - Dwyer was non-committal, saying it was more down to luck and the horse's will to compete.
"She's the best sprinter I've had I'd say, I've had a couple of group one winners, but she's the one who's had the most longevity I'd say," he said.
He said a trip to Perth in April last year was probably the making of her as a top sprinter.
"It was the making of her I think, having that new experience was something we weren't sure about," he said. "I wouldn't have dreamed of travelling her prior to that, we took her to Sydney and Perth and she handled it fine."
A trip to Perth is one thing, but a trip to the United Kingdom is quite another. The likelihood is if Asfoora gets to Royal Ascot, she will remain overseas for much of the year, possibly continuing onto the United States in November.
For many, a trip to Royal Ascot is the pinnacle of racing on Earth. Picture buy Getty Images
"It's quite a production," Dwyer said. "She'll go through Singapore and they'll have her on the tarmac for a couple of hours, then keep her going.
"They send them in crates of two or three, so they're not alone. It's probably a $70-$80,000 exercise really.
"We'll only go over a couple of weeks before, the quarantine issues aren't quite as severe for our horses going to England."
There's every possibility Asfoora will be the first Ballarat-trained horse to compete at Royal Ascot. While the likes of Black Caviar and Nature Strip are Australian winners at the event, and the Ciaron Maher and David Eustace-trained Coolangatta competed last year, that horse was not trained at Ballarat.
Dwyer said it would be an honour to represent Australia and Ballarat if the opportunity arose.
"It's all about the pomp and pageantry isn't it?" he said. "The whole top hat and tails thing, I've been over a few times just to be part of it, but if I was to be able to have a runner, that would be just something else entirely."
