{"id":199540,"date":"2026-04-16T16:34:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T16:34:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/199540\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T16:34:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T16:34:07","slug":"the-sport-of-kings-queens-and-princes-as-frankel-rules-the-rowley-mile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/199540\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sport of Kings, Queens and Princes as Frankel Rules the Rowley Mile"},"content":{"rendered":"

John Warren was doing his level best to suppress his excitement, but even a longstanding racing manager who has been privy to the highs and the lows of the sport has to crack after witnessing a performance like that of Portcullis in the Wood Ditton Maiden Stakes at Newmarket.<\/p>\n

The colt’s breeder King Charles III was not present at the Rowley Mile but it’s a safe bet that he and Queen Camilla will receive the most glowing post-race report from Warren and Portcullis’s trainers John and Thady Gosden.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I’m being really honest, I’m excited,\u201d Warren said with a smile. \u201cI’m trying not to be because we’ve been through this hoop a number of times. To be frank, he’s got to run next time to understand what we really have, because what do you know against those horses? I haven’t even seen the sectional times or anything, so it’s just more the style in which he did it.<\/p>\n


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\u201cJohn liked him last year as a two-year-old and then he had a little bit of a setback in November. We have two Frankels in the yard, the other Frankel<\/a> [Point Of Law] ran last week and finished second and showed some nice progress as well. So it’s nice to see them coming out now and showing that they’ve got the talent that John thought they had last year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Certainly, Portcullis is bred to be good. His father Frankel<\/a> blazed his own highly memorable trail down that same straight mile 15 years ago in the 2,000 Guineas, while his dam Castle Lady (Shamardal) claimed her own Classic laurels in the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches of 2019. That was in the colours of Godolphin, and she was subsequently gifted by Sheikh Mohammed to the late Queen Elizabeth II. The latter was responsible for planning the mating which produced Portcullis, who was born five months after her death in September 2022.<\/p>\n

Warren added, \u201cWhen you’re bred in the purple like that \u2013 and he’s a magnificent physical who is still not even close to being there yet, he’s not just quite furnished yet. But what makes it exciting is to think we’re only on the first rung, and I think it’s an exciting ladder.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, I’m trying not to get carried away, but dreaming that when they’re bred like that, do it like that in great hands \u2013 and Ryan [Moore] was very complimentary. Ryan just threw away a line. He said something like, ‘I think you can be brave.’ So that was indicative of the feel that he got for the horse, which is interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Portcullis is the second foal for Castle Lady after the treble winner Crown Estate (Dubawi). Waiting in the wings is the Kingman<\/a> two-year-old colt Lancaster Tower, while her yearling is a full-sister to the Wood Ditton winner.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m so thrilled for the King and the Queen because they’re getting so much pleasure out of their horses, and I never thought they would get as much pleasure as they are,\u201d Warren said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI always thought the Queen might, but the King was always going to be caught up with so many other things, but they get so much pleasure out of their horses, which is nice because they give so much and to get a few little pleasures, it’s really nice to see it happen, and it is exciting going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a day for Frankel<\/a>, the Gosdens and royal winners on the Rowley Mile for the main event on the card, the Betway Craven Stakes, went the way of Prince AA Faisal’s Oxagon. His dam, Endless Charm (Dubawi) also raced for Godolphin, winning a six-furlong Kempton maiden back in 2016 before effectively being returned to Prince Faisal’s Nawara Stud fold when bought at the Tattersalls December Mares Sale almost five years ago for 300,000gns.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ted Voute, left, with Prince AA Faisal’s Oxagon | Racingfotos<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Though he didn’t breed her, there was good reason for Prince Faisal to de drawn to the mare as Endless Charm belongs to a line which has served him so well for generations. Her granddam Wosaita (Generous) is a half-sister to the breeder’s outstanding race mare and producer, the Prix de Diane winner Rafha (Kris), who has been one of the foremost female influences in the stallion division in recent decades through her sons Invincible Spirit and Kodiac.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Representing the owner-breeder was Ted Voute, who said of Oxagon, \u201cHe’s got a lot of speed on the dam’s side \u2013 it’s the family of Invincible Spirit and Kodiac \u2013 and then I suppose there’s Dubawi and that Frankel<\/a> influence as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s a long way to go but the Prince is really pleased \u2013 he’s excited, and John [Gosden] said we’re in the Guineas and we should go. We’re in both Guineas, actually, the French and here, and I suppose the French Derby could come in to play as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

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