Orthodox Triumphs with Norfolk Success at Royal Ascot

It was a remarkable day for the Beechdown team on Saturday (20th June) as a fantastic week of first-class racing drew to an almighty conclusion, with Orthodox powering home in the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes under a thrilling ride from Rossa Ryan to win by three and a half lengths. 

Coming into this race, we knew we had a tenacious young sprinter on our hands - not only from the way he made his career appearance a very smart debut success first time out at Salisbury, but how he continues to strengthen, improve and excite us all with his work at home. For any two-year-old making their Royal Ascot debut, you would expect to see them on their toes and letting the occasion, not to mention crowds upon crowds of people, tip them slightly before the race, but this colt has always had a very relaxed and professional way about him, with his mind firmly on his racing, which was made all the more apparent with this spellbinding performance. 

Setting off, it was evident there was a strong pace set from the Wesley Ward contenders, but we know this colt to hold impressive speed so this only enabled him to patiently track early leaders from a favourable position until Rossa knew it was time to shift gears. As they approached closing stages with plenty in the tank, Rossa pushed on to see out the race in spectacular fashion. With an almighty turn of foot, he soared to the line putting confident lengths between them and the runner-up, finishing 0.22 seconds shy of the track record and successfully qualified him for an entry in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint in the autumn in Kentucky. 

This was a hugely memorable performance from a very special horse. We have held Orthodox in high regard since he started his training and nothing brings greater pleasure than to see this play out amid a crop of newcomers, talent still yet to be fully uncovered, on racing’s most prolific stage. His success now marks our 10th Royal Ascot winner, and our second victory in this race following the success of Reckless Abandon in 2012, which makes us all very proud. A huge congratulations to his owner Jason Goddard, as well as to all of his family who were there to celebrate this victory, and Whitsbury Manor Stud who bred this already gifted sprinter. This colt is still a juvenile in early career stages, and it’s enormously exciting to see where his potential will lead for all involved.