Ryan Moore: Royal Ascot reflections and pointers

Ryan Moore has told Racing TV viewers that he is excited about the latest crop of exceptional Ballydoyle juveniles after several rose to the occasion at Royal Ascot.

Although the highly-thought-of

Albert Einstein

was absent from the five-day meeting in Royal Berkshire, Moore still collected the Coventry Stakes, Queen Mary Stakes and Norfolk Stakes thanks to impressive performances from the Aidan O’Brien-trained trio of Gstaad, True Love and . 

Speaking to Nick Luck on his Luck On Sunday programme, Moore explained that all three impressed, with their performances matching their imposing physiques. 

On

Gstaad

, he explained: “He felt like a very good horse. He will get further in time and that was a very impressive performance. 

“He was probably just a little bit behind the more obvious ones like Albert Einstein and Charles Darwin, but he has improved and improved and is a very scopey horse. 

“Albert Einstein’s work has been very good, and he’s been impressive on both his starts, but this horse was impressive on the day, and the others have got to go out and do it now. 

“He’s a substantial horse and I couldn't have been more delighted with him on the day.” 

After extolling the virtues of Queen Mary winner True Love - "she was a standout beforehand in the ring and down at the start and she just overpowered them" -  Moore suggested that

Charles Darwin

could be ready to step out of juvenile company later this season. 

Moore, who broke into the top ten of all-time winning most Flat jockeys in Britain at the meeting, explained: “He’s a very mature, strong two-year-old – sitting on him is like sitting on a horse that wouldn’t be out of place in the July Cup. He’s impressive. 

“He’s so straightforward and he jumped ahead of everyone, travelled better than them all, and then when I asked him inside the two-furlong marker he just turned them away.” 

When it was suggested that a race like the Nunthorpe Stakes at York in August – where Charles Darwin would get lumps of weight from his older rivals – would suit, Moore didn’t rule it out. 

“I rode the filly Acapulco who was just touched off in the race and I suppose a race like that would be a possibility. He’s doing everything the way you’d like him to do it at the moment,” he said. 

Of the older horses that Moore rode last week, he nominated Trinity College as one who specifically impressed when landing the Hampton Court Stakes, while

January

and

Henri Matisse

also ran well in defeat in the Coronation Stakes and St James’s Palace Stakes, respectively. 

He explained: “Trinity College was good, backing up his performance from the French Derby, and he’s getting better with every run. 

“January ran a massive race, and I thought Henri Matisse ran very well. I think he would have won an above average renewal – he was just beaten by a very good horse [Field Of Gold] on the day. 

“He’s getting better - he’s by Wootton Bassett - and I don’t think we’ve got to the bottom of him just yet. I’m excited about what he can do. 

“He’s not necessarily just a miler – he could get further on the right sort of track – but he has plenty of pace.” 

Illinois and

Los Angeles

were both beaten at short odds, in the Gold Cup and Prince of Wales’s Stakes, respectively, however Moore was far from downcast about the performance of both four-year-olds. 

“Illinois ran a really good race,” he said. “He just got outstayed by a proven stayer as he travelled well but just emptied at the two-furlong marker. 

“Aidan [O’Brien] said that he was only pitched in a month before the race and he will change how he trains him from now on – when he says something like that, he normally gets it right. 

“The race didn’t go to plan with Los Angeles. We went forward and I was probably too close to the strong pace, but he also got on the wrong lead leg and was a little bit tight afterwards, so I don't think we saw the best of him. 

“He’s a Group One winner at ten furlongs but he showed last year that a mile and a half isn't a problem. 

“He’s a big horse and probably would have preferred a bit more cut in the ground as it was very quick.”