The final day of the Royal Ascot Carnival started with the Chesham Stakes over 1400m. Bunker was backed hard into favourite over Somewhat pre-race. Scargill was pulling hard going up to the gate. They all jumped well and formed a pack down the middle and then half-way through the race expanding from the grandstand fence to the middle of the track. Somewhat pushed forward early on what seemed a slow tempo but lost his run around the 2 furlong pole. That is where Berkshire made a move to hit the front and was soon joined by Bunker who rolled in slightly at the 1 furlong pole. Ihtimal boxed on well behind those two but it was Berkshire who found more out the front and kicked clear to win well from Bunker and Ihtimal with a sizeable 2-3 length gap to 4th.
The Hardwicke Stakes over 2200m was the drama filled event of the carnival with favourite Ektihaam going hard and pushing the pace early before slipping around the first corner. The horse managed to recover but threw the jockey Paul Hanagan off who flipped over the rails. Universal then took up the running and was made to go faster than Fanning wanted the horse to go with jockey-less Ektihaam running along side. Mount Athos was buried back the rails near the back of the field and only got out past the 2 furlong pole where Spencer didn’t seem to be in a hurry. At this stage, Thomas Chippendale loomed up and took the lead from Universal while Noble Mission also put in a run. Down by the furlong pole, Thomas Chippendale kicked clear while Mount Athos produced no run until about the half-furlong pole, finishing off the race strongly. Dandino came on late but wasn’t able to pass a very game Thomas Chippendale. Universal stayed on well for third. Sadly Thomas Chippendale suffered a heart attack after the line and died.
The highly anticipated Diamond Jubilee Stakes over 1200m produced one of the few start to finish winners of the carnival. They grey Lethal Force came into the race with a close second behind today’s favourite in Society Rock who pulled hard all the way up to the barriers (never a good sign). The main runners all jumped well and Lethal Force led up the race on what proved an only fair pace out front. Sea Siren sat beside Lethal Force while Society Rock took a sit. They let go around the 2.5 furlong mark and Lethal Force kicked a length clear. Society Rock got out for a run at the 1 furlong mark but it was all over with Lethal Force winning well. Krypton Factor stayed on well for third.
The Wokingham Stakes kicked off the 4th race of the card for the day with what appeared one of the most open races of the day with a sprint. The runners spread across the track with a large group forming in the middle of the course and a small field nearer to the grandstand rail. Coming past the two furlong pole both groups were on par. Coming past the 1 furlong pole there were several horses all equally in the lead but it was two grey horses who emerged from the pack with York Glory kicking hard late to win by a large 1.5 length margin from Shropshire while Dinkum Diamond and Khubala finished off gamely for third and fourth.
The Duke of Edinburgh Handicap over a mile and a half saw a large number of runners present another challenge for punters. Sir Graham Wade lead them out in a reasonable tempo while a fair few runners were caught 3 and even 4 wide (two of the Qatar Racing Limited runners to name a few). Opinion took a nice sit in third off the rails. Coming past the two furlong mark, Sir Graham led but was quickly claimed by several runners. Opinion used his handy position and quickly claimed the lead with Caravan Rolls On. Going past the 1.5 furlong mark Opinion claimed a 1.5 length lead while the favourite Stencive in yellow put in a huge run down the outside but couldn’t find enough to get there. Ustura was brave claiming 3rd and Caravan Rolls On stayed on for 4th.
The Queen Alexandra Stakes over 4300m finished off the carnival in fine style. Mad Moose missed the start by about 30 lengths (no joking) – what a crazy horse! Skip forward 3 minutes where nothing really happened apart from 3000 metres being ridden. The runners packed up around the 1400m mark with about 5 lengths seperating them. Shahwardi was overracing and found a little bit of trouble at this stage. Coming around the corner into the straight and a number of horses made their move including Shahwardi. Chiberta King hit the front with 1.5 furlong to go and Shahwardi loomed up to Chiberta King but just didn’t get there with Chiberta King hanging on for a half-head win from Seaside Sizzler who put in a very strong run and should be winning next start.
