Royal Ascot pedigree preview: Assessing the key juveniles
Queen Mary Stakes
Born To Rock (Soldier’s Call)
It wouldn’t be Royal Ascot without an intriguing first season sire undertone and Born To Rock (Soldier’s Call) is the shortest one fancied to get a freshman sire off the mark. Soldier’s Call himself had an affinity for Royal Ascot – in two visits to the Royal meeting he finished first and third in the Windsor Castle Stakes and King’s Stand respectively. As a Royal Ascot winning juvenile himself, anything less than a first crop winner to emulate himself might be perceived as disappointing so the pressure is on Jane Chapple Hyam’s filly to deliver in the G2 Queen Mary.
A win here would be a fine advertisement for Soldier’s Call – Born To Rock’s dam never troubled the judge in six starts. Her second dam was Grade three placed in America and has bred two stakes winners – one in Scandanavia. Go back far enough in her family and you’ll find Alcohol Free (No Nay Never) but make no mistake – a win here will be attributed to her rookie sire and rightly so.
Bundchen (Gun Runner)
Every Wesley Ward contender must be taken seriously, and every pedigree enthusiast will be excited at the prospect of seeing a Gun Runner grace the European turf. That said, this is a filly who is bred to be at her best next year and beyond. Her sensational sire Gun Runner has rewritten the record books with 6 Grade 1 winners in his first crop alone but was indisputably a progressive horse who showed his best form as an older horse and the same can be said for this filly’s distaff pedigree.
Her unraced dam is by the late maturing sprinter Speightstown and a full sister to talented Grade 1 winner Force The Pass who didn’t see a racecourse until he was three. Likewise, their dam made just one unremarkable start at two and showed her best form as a four and five year old at Grade 3 level. On paper, this filly is best watched this time around.
Matrika (No Nay Never)
Winning on her debut on Irish Guineas weekend, Matrika’s (No Nay Never) form received a timely boost with fellow daughter of No Nay Never, and third that day, Mysteries, shedding her maiden tag in good style at Cork on Friday.
This is a filly who has sharp, early two year old rippling throughout her pedigree. Her unraced dam Muravka (High Chaparral) is already responsible for two stakes winning juveniles – one of those being G1 Prix Morny winner The Wow Signal (Starspangledbanner) while her second dam Tabdea (Topsider) won the Listed Firth of Clyde Stakes as a two year old. Matrika’s full brother Unicorn Lion (No Nay Never) is a G3 winner in Japan, albeit as a three year old, this filly is bred to shine on this stage and represents excellent value at an each way price.
Albany Stakes
Pearls And Rubies (No Nay Never) (possible Chesham)
Making her debut on June 11th, less than two weeks prior to both of her possible engagements this week, Pearls And Rubies (No Nay Never) needed every inch of the five furlongs to get her head in front at Navan. The step up to 6f if taking in the G3 Albany is almost certain to bring out improvement and that improvement coupled with the natural step forward expected from a green debut give this filly a serious chance of living up to her illustrious pedigree.
She is a daughter of No Nay Never out of G1 Pretty Polly Stakes winner Diamondsandrubies (Fastnet Rock) who is in turn a daughter of G1 Moyglare Stakes winner and Oaks, Irish Oaks and Irish 1000 Guineas runner up Quarter Moon (Sadler’s Wells). Quarter Moon’s full sister Yesterday went one better in winning the Irish 1000 Guineas and hopes will be high for this filly to take the next step in Group company here. Pedigrees don’t get much better than this and whilst the family are largely a progressive one, we are all well versed in what No Nay Never’s juveniles can do.
Fresh off the back of Blue Rose Cen’s stunningly emphatic Prix de Diane win in one of the most competitive renewals of late, this daughter of Churchill is bred to add another feather to her sire’s burgeoning cap. A half-sister to Chesham Stakes third Highland Chief (Gleneagles), Pink Satin is out of the Montjeu mare Pink Symphony whose finest hour came in the G3 Give Thanks Stakes.
This filly has class stamped all over her being a granddaughter of the winning mare Blue Duster who is by top class broodmare sire Darshaan and duly bred the very smart Nell Gwyn winner Fantasia (Sadler’s Wells) who was twice Group 1 placed as well. Blue Symphony also bred the dam of G2 winner Western Hymn (High Chaparral) who is by another son of Sadler’s Wells and connections have wasted no time in adding more of his coveted blood to the family through his grandson Churchill. Having been rewarded with a Grade 1 winner thanks to Gleneagles and Highland Chief, a win for this filly would be a just reward for intuitive breeding.
Persian Dreamer (Calyx)
Another first season sire who has started his second career rapidly is Calyx and this TDN Rising Star who was fourth in the Listed Marygate Stakes when favourite has a point to prove. That experience will stand to her and given her stature, it will be no surprise if she takes a giant step forward both for the outing and the extra furlong.
Her half-sister Queen Olly (No Nay Never) was fourth in this race last year and her dam Surprisingly (Galileo) is a half-sister to a Marble Hill winner and Norfolk Stakes second Coach House (Oasis Dream). Who could forget her brilliant sire’s scintillating Coventry Stakes success back in 2018 and given the speed at which he has been racking up the winners, a breakthrough first stakes winner is surely just around the corner. This filly has the right pedigree to do it and coming here as a beaten favourite, is a nice price to do it.
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