Thomas Chippendale wore down stablemate Noble Mission to give trainer Henry Cecil a 1-2 sweep of the group II King Edward VII Stakes today at Royal Ascot in England.
Ridden to victory by Johnny Murtagh, Thomas Chippendale settled into the third position in the early stages of the twelve-furlong race, just behind heavily favored front-runner Astrology and pace-pressing Thought Worthy. Tucked in toward the inside in fourth was Noble Mission -- a half-brother to the European superstar Frankel -- with Initiator content to trail the field of five.
The positions remained unchanged for much of the race, with the only alteration in order being that Thomas Chippendale began to drop back a bit about a half-mile from home, allowing Noble Mission to temporarily sneak into third place.
The race really began in the vicinty of the three-eighths pole, when Thought Worthy moved up to apply pressure to Astrology, who surprisingly had nothing left in the tank for the stretch drive. So Thought Worthy moved up to take over the lead, with Thomas Chippendale strongly challenging on the outside. Right behind them was Noble Mission, desperately searching for racing room under Thomas Queally. With a bold run, the colt shot through a narrow opening in between the two leaders, and appeared to be full of run. But just as he began to accelerate, Thought Worthy ducked out sharply, forcing Noble Mission into Thomas Chippendale. Some serious bumping followed, with Noble Mission being briefly knocked off stride, but despite this, the colt recovered quickly and seized command of the lead. However, he was unable to hold off the strong finish of Thomas Chippendale, who rallied to a half-length victory on the far outside.
The was an inquiry into the bumping incident, but the stewards ruled no change. Thought Worthy finished another half-length behind in third, followed distantly by Astrology and Initiator. For trainer Henry Cecil, it was his 75th victory at Royal Ascot.
-Keelerman
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