Prestige, Thrilling Finishes Highlight Royal Ascot Meet

What is it about Royal Ascot that captures the soul of hardcore racing lifers, casual fans, and even the huge swath of the population that otherwise ignores the sport? "This is the greatest place in the world to win a horse race. There is nowhere like it anywhere that I have been." That was trainer Wesley Ward, the Keeneland-based pioneer of American raids on the royal meeting, after he returned to the winner's enclosure this year for the first time since 2021 with Bacio, who destroyed a huge field in the non-black-type Palace of Holyroodhouse Handicap. If Ward enthusiastically trades out baggy jeans and golf shirts for tailcoat and top hat, something clearly is going on. Fans flock to the venue, about 30 miles from central London. Attendance at this year's five days was 294,541, up some 2.8% over 2025. And even a cursory glance around showed a good mix of racing fans and folks just out for a good time. And the meeting continues to draw top-drawer international runners despite the rigors of travel and the risk of besmirching a horse's home record with a foreign defeat. The final group 1 race on this year's final day, the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (G1), is a case in point. It featured sprinters from Japan, Australia, and France. So what is it? It's not the money, although purses have been climbing and are generous by modest European standards. Total purses for this month's meeting came to £10.645 million or roughly US$12.29 million. For context, the Dubai World Cup (G1)—just the one race—offers $12 million. And it's not just the presence of the royals themselves. The passing of the torch from the late Queen Elizabeth II, a beloved and passionate champion of racing, to King Charles III and Queen Camilla seems not to have dented general enthusiasm for the proceedings. Despite their runners taking a couple of tough beats, their Majesties seemed to be engaged and enjoying themselves. There is, of course, the quality of the racing itself and Royal Ascot 2026 outdid itself. The biggest races consistently produced thrilling results. Chris Waller, trainer of Australian star sprinter Joliestar (AUS), who finished third, beaten just a nose and a short head in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes, put a finger on the value of participation. "We have seen some great finishes," Waller said. "Unfortunately, that was one of them and we just missed out. But it was just an honor to be here. It was important coming into the race to make sure that she brought her Australian form here and stood it up, and she really did that. "We did not win today, but she has certainly got her admirers and that is what international racing is all about." Nick Smith, director of racing and public affairs for Ascot Racecourse, gave BloodHorse his take on the popularity of the week. "Most horses that travel to Royal Ascot from outside Europe are attracted by the global profile of the meeting, with its traditions and history... You also have to send the very best. "Royal Ascot prize money is very high in European terms and we are happy that we attract the very best from around Europe, with this year looking particularly strong," Smith said. "However, it is a competitive global market and there are many alternatives, some with prize money levels that are unlikely to be possible in Europe with its different funding structures." Smith emphasized that Ascot and, by extension British racing, generally sees the royal meeting as a kind of marketing tool for the rest of its flat racing program. "Generally we are very happy to have a two or three Australians, Japanese, and Americans, at group 1 level with the right credentials. The King George in July is just as important to us, in international terms, and this year we are looking forward to two of the best Japanese horses in training coming over for that." He referred to Masquerade Ball (JPN) and Wurttemberg (JPN), who are expected to face off with 2025 Japan Cup (G1) winner Calandagan (IRE) in what promises to be one of the year's top races, the July 25 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (G1). The Japanese Travel Team Masquerade Ball and Wurttemberg are not the only Japanese chess pieces being shuffled around the international board. After teasing that he might get a chance on the grass in Europe this summer, trainer Yoshito Yahagi finally has committed 2025 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) winner Forever Young (JPN) to a title defense on Halloween at Keeneland after using the Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes (G1) at the rebuilt Belmont Park as the highest of high-class preps. That's a reversal for "the man in the hat," who had been fairly insistent earlier that the complications of shipping from Japan to Kentucky would be too much for his star charge. That, despite repeated trips to the Middle East. What a kidder. Forever Young, Yahagi, and owner Susumu Fujita, after all, have some unfinished business that could be settled on the dirt at Belmont and Keeneland—that being their loss to Magnitude in this year's Dubai World Cup. And, speaking of teasing, after his repeat victory in the $20 million Saudi Cup (G1) in February, Fujita's enthusiasm bubbled over to a suggestion he might delay Forever Young's move to the breeding shed by a couple months to try for a "three-peat" in February 2027. Yahagi did not mention that possibility in his latest outline of plans—possibly because Fujita has done the math on two or three months' worth of stud fees. Zac Purton On May 31 at Sha Tin Racecourse, Zac Purton became the first jockey to ride 2,000 winners in Hong Kong when Rising World (AUS) won the Hong Kong Wu Hua General Association Cup Plate at 1,200 meters (about 6 furlongs). The race itself, for griffins (previously unraced imported horses), otherwise was of little note. And the 2,000 wins would seem to pale by comparison with the 13,069 credited to South American rider Jorge Ricardo by the Guinness Book of World Records or Russell Baze's 12,842. Appearances can be deceiving, though, and Purton's achievement has come in a different context than other riders'—evidenced by the fact that only two other jockeys, Douglas Whyte and Joao Moreira, have eclipsed even the 1,000-win mark in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Jockey Club tightly controls every aspect of the special administrative region's racing. A prohibition against agents makes it imperative that jockeys develop and maintain their own relationships with owners and trainers. And, while the season has expanded in recent years, there still are only two tracks hosting one race meeting each per week. Purton, at times seen wearing one of his comprehensive collection of American baseball team caps, moved to Hong Kong from Australia in 2007 and worked his way up the ladder in the tight rider colony. He rose to the top ranks roughly alongside Moreira and the two engaged in epic battles for the jockey premiership before Moreira left town. Purton's association with many of Hong Kong's top horses Beauty Generation (NZ), Exultant (IRE), Aerovelocity, Ambitious Dragon (NZ), Southern Legend (AUS), Lucky Sweynesse (NZ), and Military Attack (IRE) includes his ongoing assignment on the world's current No. 1 steed, Ka Ying Rising (NZ). He initially made light of the accomplishment. "At least I'm not going to have to go home tonight and listen to (my son) Cash say, 'Why didn't you have a winner today, Daddy?' So we've had the winner and he's got the trophy. It's job done." Upon reflection, his tone changed. "To come here and not have the red carpet rolled out for me, I had to work for everything that I have got and that wasn't easy to stay determined, resilient, and keep turning up. And everything that comes with that to be standing here today, it makes it, obviously, feel like it's all been worthwhile and obviously it has. "I've had to work for it," Purton said. Geldings in the Arc? France Galop has asked the European Pattern Committee to change the entry conditions for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1) to allow geldings to run in the end-of-season set piece. Excluding geldings might seem odd to much of the world, but the Arc is held as one of the breeding world's sacrosanct bastions of purity. The request has prompted sharply differing responses from top trainers with the likes of Aidan O'Brien and Andre Fabre strenuously opposed and Francis-Henri Graffard arguing in favor.