This year's Royal Ascot was dominated by Godolphin. The boys in
blue had six winners, including group one success with Refuse to
Bend and Papineau. This came after a bitterly disappointing Epsom
where their fancied runners were well beaten. Inevitably stable
jockey Frankie Dettori walked away as the meeting's most successful
jockey.
The dominant stallion of the meeting was Sadler's Wells. Europe's
greatest sire was the sire of two winners, in Refuse to Bend and
the impressive Hardwicke Stakes winner Doyen. He was also the damsire
of King Edward VII Stakes hero, Five Dynasties and the great grandsire
of Gold Cup winner Papineau. His daughter Quiff was third in the
Ribblesdale while son Two Miles West was second in the Queens Vase.
Another son was third in the King Edward VII Stakes.
The late Danehill also was responsible for two winners in Ribblesdale
heroine Punctilious and Five Dynasties. The Danzig line is red hot
in Europe, via the likes of Oujia Board and North Light, and sons
Green Desert, with two winners, and Polish Precedent the sire of
Rakti, kept the Claiborne veteran's name at the top of recent pedigrees.
Another son of Danzig, Perugino, sired King's Stand Stakes hero,
The Tatling.
Rainbow Quest was the damsire of the first and second in the Prince
of Wales Stakes to further enhance his growing reputation as an
outstanding broodmare sire - he is also the maternal sire of the
last two Epsom Derby winners.