3 minute read

Docklands continued his love affair with Royal Ascot when hanging on determinedly to see off a late challenge from Rosallion in the opening Queen Anne Stakes on Tuesday.

In a race billed as a rematch between the first four home in last month’s Lockinge Stakes, Docklands slid somewhat under the radar for trainer Harry Eustace and was sent off a 14/1 chance in the hands of Australian-based rider Mark Zahra, who was making his Royal Ascot debut. 

A winner of the Brittania Stakes at this meeting in 2023, the Harry Eustace-trained five-year-old arrived back at his beloved Berkshire venue on the back of a somewhat unlucky third-place finish in the Diomed Stakes at Epsom just ten days ago.

Quddwah took the field along at a steady pace for much of the early parts of the contest until an injection of speed from those towards the fore brought the Ascot curtain raiser to life. 

Lead Artist, Dancing Gemini and Quddwah quickened up at the head of affairs passing the two-furlong marker, but they were quickly joined by both Rosallion and Docklands, with the former making his challenge more towards the near side, while the latter moved to make his bid on the far side. 

The duo set down to fight it out in the final furlong, with neither horse in any mood to be denied. The pair continued to trade blows all the way to the line and although Mark Zahra parted ways with his whip in the closing stages, it would be Docklands who would prevail by the narrowest of margins, clinging on in a photo-finish to deny the 5/2 market leader by a nose and go one spot better than when second to Charyn in the same contest twelve months ago. 

Alice Haynes’ decision to run 100/1 chance Cairo was rewarded as he emerged with plenty of credit back in third, while Notable Speech, whose rider William Buick also lost his stick, finished fourth having travelled smoothly behind the eventual winner. 

Eustace, who was enjoying his first taste of success at the top-level said: “I have lost my voice, I am afraid; that was pretty sweet. 

“It was tough watching and the photo was tough. I wasn't happy with the pace early on; Docklands did his usual thing, just stepped slow and I was cursing him to be honest, but he is just an absolute star. 

“He has been an absolute legend for us and, if ever there was a track where you'd want a horse that's a specialist, it's here because it is the best racing. At about the furlong marker, I thought Rosallion was really coming at us, but God he was so brave that last furlong. He has been frustrating, but only because I feel he deserves to have won the odd race more than he has.

 “It sounds boring but the work and the effort that everyone at home puts into our horses, that is the reason we are here, and I can't thank them enough. More importantly, I can't thank Terry [Henderson] and OTI enough. They got offered a huge amount of money after he won the Britannia, but they wanted to enjoy a good racehorse and roll the dice, and thankfully it has paid off.

 “That is mainly thanks to Docklands [coming back to form after global travels]. He has the most unbelievable mind and constitution. He loves being a racehorse, he loves it every single day, and he is very competitive.”

A relieved Zahra, who might not have been smiling so much had the race been an extra yard, quipped: “I was so scared about the whip rules; I thought it would just be easier to throw it away at the 200 [metres]!

 “It was a very slow speed, and I just crept as much as I could. I got room at the right time and Docklands burst through and kept responding, kept responding.

“Amazing, what an amazing feeling. Unbelievable. I have to thank the boys that put me on him. One of the top days of my career for sure.

 "Hearing all the Aussies over the fence, even though the horse is English, you'd have thought he was Aussie by all the screams, amazing experience for unbelievable people.

"Harry has been pumping me up the whole way. This just started as a stop-off on the way to a trip to Ibiza, so to turn into a massive win like this is very special. The closer we got, the more Harry filled me with confidence, and he was right.

"Both Docklands’ runs this season have been really good. I rode him in Hong Kong with blinkers, whereas blinkers off today, and just looking at him in the field, he is a completely different horse.”