California Chrome Headlines American Horses at Royal Ascot

California Chrome's most recent win came on the turf in last November's Hollywood Derby. (Photo by Benoit and Associates)
While the 2015 Triple Crown winner won’t be seen racing for a few months, next week’s Royal Ascot meeting has a treat for American classic fans with dual classic winner California Chrome lining up for Wednesday’s Prince of Wales’s Stakes.
California Chrome was last seen in Dubai where he finished second in the Dubai World Cup on dirt but he isn’t a stranger to the turf with his last win came in the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby at the end of last year. The field hasn’t officially been set yet, but at the moment it looks like California Chrome, who will have William Buick aboard, will be taking on 10 others in the race.
California Chrome isn’t the only one with a U.S. Triple Crown connection in the Prince of Wales’s as Japan invader Spielberg is a half-brother to Flower Alley, who sired 2012 Triple Crown hopeful I’ll Have Another who retired before contesting the Belmont that year.
According to the Daily Racing Form, 13 United States-based horses will be running at Royal Ascot this year. So let’s take a look at the American names you’ll see in the races at the track next week.
Other American runners at Royal Ascot
Hootenanny is familiar to American race fans as the winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf but he’s also already accomplished in England. The winner of the Windsor Castle Stakes in 2014 at Royal Ascot, Hootenanny is running in the newly created Commonwealth Stakes over six furlongs on the Friday of Royal Ascot as his second race of the year. Hootenanny already has a win under his belt in 2015, easily winning an allowance race on Keeneland’s turf course by 6 ¼ lengths in mid-April.
HOOTENANNY WINNING AN ALLOWANCE EARLIER THIS YEAR

Photo by Melissa Bauer-Herzog
A somewhat surprising last-minute supplemented entry for the Commonwealth Stakes is Cyclogenisis. The undefeated 3-year-old colt has two wins on the turf and one on the synthetic, with a stakes win on each. He’s only gone 5 ½ furlongs over the turf, but one of those wins was a 5 ¾-length victory in the Laurel Futurity last year. In his lone attempt going six furlongs, he won the Tom Ridge Stakes on synthetic on May 18.
Leading American breeders Ken and Sarah Ramsey will be represented at Royal Ascot with last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf runner-up Luck of the Kitten. By their stallion Kitten’s Joy, Luck of the Kitten was the winner of last year’s Zuma Beach Stakes and was a close second to Night Prowler in the Transylvania Stakes at Keeneland in April. Entered in the Jersey Stakes, the first race of the day on Wednesday, Luck of the Kitten will be cutting back from the 1 1/16 miles he’s run in his two starts this year to seven furlongs, a distance he’s only run once in his career.
LUCK OF THE KITTEN BEFORE THE AMERICAN TURF STAKES

Photo by Melissa Bauer-Herzog
NFL player Wes Welker will have a reason to pull out his top hat on Saturday as his 5-year-old gelding Undrafted takes on some of the best turf sprinters in the world in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes over six furlongs. Finishing third by only half a length in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint last year, Undrafted was close to getting his first win of the year on the Kentucky Derby card last out when he closed like a freight train to finish second in the Twin Spires Turf Sprint. This is Undrafted’s second trip to England as he finished fourth by 1 ¾ length to Slade Power last year in the July Cup at Newmarket.
Trainer Graham Motion, who ran 2011 Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom at Royal Ascot in 2013 is again represented at the meet this year. Miss Temple City will be flying the flag for Motion and owners Sagamore Farm, Allen Rosenblum, and The Club Racing in the Coronation Stakes on Friday over one mile. Miss Temple City was an impressive winner of the 1 1/16 mile Hilltop Stakes at Pimlico the day before the Preakness, which sealed her trip to Royal Ascot. The last time Miss Temple City went a mile was in the April 12 Appalachian Stakes where she finished second to Lady Eli, who is regarded as one of the best 3-year-old turf fillies in the world right now.
MISS TEMPLE CITY WINNING THE HILLTOP STAKES

Photo by Eclipse Sportswire
Like usual, Wesley Ward is sending quite a few 2-year-olds to the royal meeting this year to contest five of the 2-year-old races carded during the week.
Perhaps his most highly regarded 2-year-old of the meet, Finnegan, is the first one he’ll send out. Running in the Coventry Stakes on Tuesday, Finnegan is a half-brother to 2012 Kentucky Derby and Preakness runner-up Bodemeister. Losing his debut to Outwork at Keeneland in his first attempt on dirt, Finnegan was an impressive five-length winner of a maiden race going six furlongs on the grass on the Preakness Stakes undercard.
FINNEGAN BEFORE HIS KEENELAND DEBUT

Photo by Melissa Bauer-Herzog
Later in the day, Ward will be saddling both Acapulco and Ruby Notion in the Windsor Castle Stakes, the last race of the card. Acapulco, who will have Frankie Dettori aboard, finished third in a 4 ½-furlong maiden race on dirt last month while Ruby Notion won her maiden over the same distance by 3 ¼ lengths. Both fillies will be running five furlongs in the Windsor Castle.
Ward will be busy saddling horses in back-to-back races on Wednesday with Luck of the Kitten running in the Jersey Stakes in the first race of the card and Bruised Orange running in the second, the Queen Mary Stakes, according to Daily Racing Form. Bruised Orange, running for Hat Creek Racing, won her debut by 3 lengths in the first 2-year-old race of the year at Keeneland. The filly will have to go an extra half-furlong in the Queen Mary but that doesn’t look like it will be a problem.
BRUISED ORANGE GALLOPING AT KEENELAND IN APRIL

Photo by Melissa Bauer-Herzog
Friday in the Albany Stakes, Ward sends out Back at the Ranch, a winner in her last start and Laxfield Road, who won her debut by 11 ¼ lengths at Keeneland in April. Those two will be joining Hootenanny and Miss Temple City as Americans racing on that card, making it a potentially big day for the United States.
The final day of the meet could potentially be another winning day for the Ramseys and Ward as the team sends out Love the Kitten in the Chesham Stakes. Love the Kitten will be going farther than 4 ½ furlongs for the first time in the seven-furlong Chesham and hopes that the third time is the charm after finishing second in her first two career races.
This year’s Royal Ascot meet looks to be a spectacular event with some of the best horses from Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, the U.S. and Europe lining up for a truly competitive five days of racing.
For those interested in watching the five-day meet, TVG will have the action from Royal Ascot starting at 9 a.m. ET on Tuesday, June 16.