Saffron Beach (5-2 joint favourite) ran out a fine winner of the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes on the second day of Royal Ascot 2022.
Jane Chapple-Hyam's filly had a fine season as a three-year-old, includiung beeing runner-up to Mother Earth in the QIPCO 1,000 Guineas before beating that Aidan O'Brien rival in the Group One Sun Chariot Stakes at the end of the season.
The New Bay filly had to carry a penalty for that Group One victory and she had to concede 5lb all round including to the reopposing Mother Earth. But she made light of that burden and showed her class to run out a fine winner of the Group Two contest under Liverpool FC fan William Buick.
On her first start since finishing fourth in the Dubai Turf at Meydan in March, Saffron Beach was cruising throughout the mile contest and once she hit the front coming to the final two furlongs, the race was all over.
She went on to score by three-and-a-half lengths from the staying-on 40-1 outsider Thunder Beauty. Primo Bacio was a close up in third, but the other joint-favourite Bashkirova and Mother Earth never got into the race.
Chapple-Hyam said: "She did it in commanding fashion, he sat there, pulled her out and 'ping' off she went.
"I presume we'll go for the Rothschild in Deauville, then the Sun Chariot and then the Breeders' Cup. Why not? We'll leave it to the owners.
"You always worry about that 5lb penalty, but it's been a rule for years and I suppose it's there for a reason, but you worry – 5lb is 5lb.
"I think it was hard going to Dubai off a winter, and those horses are hardened colts and geldings, which they showed in the blanket finish and we didn't have a pre-race, a prep race, whereas here, we'd gone to Chelmsford and we'd gone to the July Course and had got the work into her."
Buick added: "We got a nice lead into it, with steady fractions. She's got gears and she was very smooth today.
"It's great for Jane, all the owners involved. It's fantastic – it's Royal Ascot. You have to enjoy these moments."
Jason Kelly, assistant to Thunder Beauty's trainer David O'Meara, sai: "She has run a great race, we are delighted with her.
"We'll probably step back to seven furlongs, there is the Oak Tree at Goodwood, that will be high on the agenda.
"She is a high-class filly and is versatile ground-wise."
Charlie Hills Dark Shift (13-2) came through to land the Royal Hunt Cup under James Macdonald.
It was the second Royal Ascot of the week for New Zealand-born McDonald who had partnered Australian raider Nature Strip to a blistering success in the King's Stand on Tuesday.
Dark Shift had won three of his last four starts, and was carrying a 5lb penalty for the latest one at Nottingham last month. He was settled in the pack initially but came through halfway through the mile contest and went claer to score by a half-a-length from Intellogent (40-1) by half a length, with Tempus (28-1) a length-and-a-quarter back in third and Astro King (17-2) a further length-and-a-half further adrift in fourth.
Trainer Hills said: "It was always the plan to go for the Victoria Cup. We ran there and got a terrible draw. We needed to them run him again to get into this race.
"We ran him at Nottingham and he won there. It was a bit of a worry if we would get into the race two days ago. Anyway, it's great. Myself and James McDonald go back a long way. He came to spend the summer with us eight years ago and we have become good family friends and for connections to let him ride the horse means an awful lot. I'm very proud.
"James is so good. Not taking anything away from our boys, we've got some great ones in England, but we just seem to get on well. It's great to have James on our side."
Little Big Bear, the subject of a big gamble, gave Aidan O'Brien a first winner of the week at Royal Ascot in the Listed Windsor Castle Stakes.
Under Ryan Moore, the two-year-old son of No Nay Never came across the track and landed the five-furlong contest by a neck from Rocket Rodney (14-1) with Eddie's Boy (40-1) a further length-and-a-half away in third.
Little Big Bear was well backed into the 6-5 favourite and in the 13th race he gave the Ballydoyle maestro a first win of the week at the Royal meeting and a 77th overall.
For Moore it was also a first winner of the week and his 67th at Royal Ascot.
O'Brien said: "Delighted with that. We were a little concerned about the wide draw, as he was away by himself and he is still a baby. He battled on well.
"He just got beat the first time and won well the second time. Ryan rode him work in the week and was happy with him. He should get further in the future, too. We're delighted with him. He is in the Phoenix Stakes."
O'Brien earlier saw his son Joseph land a first Royal Ascot winner as a trainer with State Of Rest in the Prince of Wales's Stakes, 10 years on from when he rode his father's So You Think to victory in the same Group One contest.
O'Brien senior added: "It's an unbelievable day for Joseph to have his winner earlier.
"He told me what he was going to do before the race and I didn't think it was the right thing. From experience I learned not to say anything and so delighted I was for them."
