In terms of international triumphs at Royal Ascot, few can be more significant than Choisir’s remarkable blast from down under in 2003 despite the French perhaps laying a claim as pioneers thanks to 1866 Gold Cup winner Gladiateur.
Horses then were perceived to take their nationality from where they were bred, so Gladiateur, owned by Count Frederic de Lagrange but trained in Newmarket, was considered a French success.
More Gallic glory has followed and Italy had a Gold Cup hero when Botticelli obliged in 1955, but the turn of the millennium signalled an exciting time that would change the face of the royal meeting, which is said to have evolved from a four-day fixture in 1768, forever.
At its heart was the trailblazing Choisir, a hulking sprinter from Australia who became the first horse from outside Europe to etch his name on the honours board with victory in what was the King’s Stand before he sensationally followed up four days later in the Golden Jubilee, which is now the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee.
Two years after that ground-breaking double, the Hong Kong-trained Cape Of Good Hope landed the Jubilee and more Australian revelry came via the iconic Takeover Target and Miss Andretti before the unheralded Wesley Ward made a name for himself with a string of speedballs, opening a door for US juveniles no-one knew existed.
Australian legend Black Caviar, the greatest horse from outside Europe to compete, provided another memorable – albeit nail-biting – moment for the meeting when she prevailed in the 2012 Jubilee, while top-class US mare Tepin took on the cream of Britain, Ireland and France’s best older milers and beat them in the Queen Anne four years later.
Ascot has also attracted runners from Bahrain, Japan, New Zealand, Qatar, Singapore, South Africa and Dubai since Choisir, so it’s no surprise the event, now a global brand, was last year carried by 31 broadcasters to 180 territories.
“We should have a statue of Choisir – without him I don’t know where we would be now”
That’s countries from the Baltics, Latin and South America and 48 in sub-Saharan Africa, while cruise ships and airlines also took the feed.
Nick Smith, Ascot’s Director of Racing and Public Affairs who joined the track in 2000, credits then-Chairman the Duke of Devonshire and Chief Executive Douglas Erskine Crum, along with former Clerk of the Course Nick Cheyne, for laying the foundations of an international draw that still exists to this day.
“To them, it was clear the world was changing and we needed to move with it and play in that global arena,” he remembers. “They had some considerable early success with the likes of Choisir and we should probably have a statue of him at Ascot because, without him, I genuinely don’t know whether we’d be where we are now.”
What Royal Ascot is now is five days inked in the international calendar, which has grown with the advent of ultra-valuable slots in Saudi Arabia and Australia alongside more established dates such as Dubai World Cup night and the Breeders’ Cup, although not one of those possess the prestige, tradition and fashion found – and exported abroad – in Berkshire in the middle of June each year.
It’s not a numbers game; it’s a quality game.
“It’s completely unique and we get so many overseas visitors within the sport,” Smith adds. “It’s a melting pot of the racing world in the parade ring and Car Park Two afterwards, a who’s who of the global racing industry. Even if trainers don’t have runners, they’re here, doing business, looking at horses to buy, socialising.”
While Black Caviar, whose connections still attend the royal meeting every year without any formal interest in runners, was a big coup for Ascot, Winx was one megastar who got away and Hong Kong-based pair Ka Ying Rising and Romantic Warrior – officially rated the best turf horses on the planet – will not make the trip this term.
Smith recognises that cash, for some, is understandably king, but does not feel the royal racecourse has reached its zenith or lost any lustre in the eyes of those abroad.
“It’s peaks and troughs,” he goes on. “There have been huge peaks with great horses and a couple of winners, and a real international theme. Then you get lighter years, but we want the best horses with genuine chances running. It’s in no-one’s interests to have horses who won’t do any good. It’s not a numbers game; it’s a quality game.”
The headline names among this summer’s non-European entries for the early-closing Group 1s include Satono Reve and Asfoora, the heroine of last year’s King Charles III Stakes, which used to be the King’s Stand.
“Satono Reve is probably the best sprinter in Japan and the level of horse we’re delighted with, as is Asfoora, and obviously we’d liked to have seen Ka Ying Rising and Romantic Warrior, but it’s a hard sell for those geldings,” Smith says, lamenting British racing’s funding system that does not allow it to compete with other jurisdictions.
David Hayes, who trains Ka Ying Rising, successful in 13 of his 15 starts and looking every inch the sport’s next phenomenon, is well aware of that.
“I would take a horse there in a heartbeat,” says the trainer, who has saddled three runners at the famous fixture. “Probably not a gelding because there’s not much upside in the prize-money. It’s not on the cards for Ka Ying Rising because there’s no breeding value to add to him. He’ll go to Australia for the Everest, but, if he was a colt or a filly, it would be different. Because he’s a gelding though, there’s just not enough money to lure him there at this stage.”
It’s on every trainer’s wish list to have one good enough to compete at Royal Ascot
Hayes, nonetheless, is smitten with the week his late father Colin – a legendary trainer in Australia – was also besotted by.
“Dad loved it,” he adds. “In his day, you didn’t travel horses, certainly not from Australia, but he loved going and dressing up and I think it would be on every trainer’s wishlist in Australia to have one good enough to go and compete.
“I’d always have Ascot on my mind. I’m training geldings in Hong Kong now so it’s not really on the agenda, but, if my boys in Australia had the right filly or entire, I’m sure they’d be there. It’s massive in Hong Kong and everyone tunes in. It’s part of the World Pool and we have our summer break when it’s on, so there’s no racing. It’s very popular and has a huge profile; it’s Melbourne Cup week on steroids!”
The World Pool alluded to by Hayes is an international co-mingling pari-mutuel product launched by the influential Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) at Royal Ascot in 2019 and now bet into by countries as diverse as Canada, Jamaica, Estonia and Cyprus.
“We are delighted to provide a global tote offering for one of the world’s leading racing brands, Royal Ascot,” Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, Chief Executive Officer of the HKJC and arguably racing’s most powerful administrator, said at the time.
It was no coincidence to Smith the HKJC chose Ascot for its launch and, as of February 23, Commonwealth Cup day in 2022 ranked fifth in terms of turnover with around £34.1 million in the all-time World Pool list, although days that bettered it included more races and fixtures.
The attraction of Royal Ascot as a betting medium is further illustrated by three of its contests featuring in the top five World Pool races, headed by the 2023 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes, yielding a record £6.42m, the 2022 Coronation Stakes turning over £6.21m, and that year’s Platinum Jubilee Stakes producing £5.97m.
“It’s helped us increase prize-money and it was very telling, in terms of a global perception, the Hong Kong Jockey Club chose to launch on the first five days of Royal Ascot – they could have done that anywhere,” Smith reflects. “They wanted to go where it would give them the biggest global profile and chose us, which was a big endorsement.”
Overseas raiders help swell those pots, but Smith believes “international interest goes both ways and people are just as interested in seeing top European horses, who might travel overseas later, as they are horses from their own country”.
“Americans love it; it’s Downton Abbey meets the Kentucky Derby.”
That is a view backed up by Jess Stafford, a familiar face to fans of the sport in Britain through her appearances on Racing TV who has fronted US coverage on FanDuel TV alongside Nick Luck.
“We put so much more emphasis into Royal Ascot than anything else and it’s not just the American horses that matter,” she says. “There’s an international appeal for the American viewers, which is far greater than other meetings, and the Americans love the spectacle of it; it’s Downton Abbey meets the Kentucky Derby.”
Laying bare its appeal, Stafford, who has presented at the jamboree since 2019, adds: “The other 30-odd days of the year I present in Britain for FanDuel, we’d use cameras here and it gets streamed to America, but this is different and, for instance, Scott Hazelton, who has been presenting for a while, comes over with camera operators.
“It’s the only event here they’d bring talent and additionals over for. Okay, they’d do it for Dubai, where a lot of American dirt horses run, but not the Arc.”
Last year, 37 media outlets from Europe and 34 from outside had an on-course presence and Smith continues: “In the last ten years, the number of broadcasters and countries being represented in that format has spiralled. The Green Channel will cover it for Japan and will be there all week, not just for Satono Reve.
“NBC, in the States, cover the whole week and broadcast the final day on network television, which is the equivalent of BBC1. In America it’s huge and particularly event-led with the royal procession, pageantry and outfits.”
Any analysis of Royal Ascot would not be complete without mention of the fashion that is showcased.
“It’s a massive part of it and we’ve done style guide launches in Dubai, Australia and America, but it’s everything, from the royal procession to the trophies being presented,” Smith explains, touching on the fascination the participation of the royal family brings.
“It’s more relaxed in that it’s not an official engagement for the royal family, it’s an occasion they choose to be at and people from overseas love to see that.
“I think two of the biggest stories I’ve seen at Royal Ascot have been the late Queen winning with Estimate and the King and Queen winning with Desert Hero. That gets you on the front page of newspapers in Australia and America – they’re cut-through moments.”
And Smith, thanks to Choisir and many others from further afield, knows all about those.
