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| |  Wednesday, 19 June, 2002, 14:57 GMT 15:57 UK Grandera claims Ascot prize Grandera (right) gave Godolphin a third straight win Frankie Dettori landed the Prince of Wales' Stakes on Grandera in emphatic style at Royal Ascot. Grandera scored by five lengths from Indian Creek, with favourite Banks Hill three-quarters of a length third and Nayef fourth. Victory for the Saeed bin Suroor-trained colt gave Goldolphin their third successive winner in Wednesday's feature race, following Fantastic Light and Dubai Millennium. And it gave Dettori his first winner of the meeting after drawing a blank on Tuesday.
Grandera, the joint second favourite, benefited from the assistance of Godolphin pace-maker Sydenham, who made all the early running. Dettori settled his mount in mid-division and even elected to take a pull as the field charged into the home straight. But when he let Grandera go at the furlong pole the race was over almost instantly as the four-year-old quickened away from rivals Banks Hill and Nayef. Those two market leaders were caught on the run-in by 25-1 shot Indian Light. Dettori told the BBC: "We've found the key to him (Grandera) now - fast ground and a strong pace. "We put a pacemaker in there just to make sure it was a strong pace and he had everybody beaten. "I took my time because he's got a good turn of foot. He idles in front but the race was over by then.
"We've tried visors on him, we've tried all sorts but now the horse has come good, we've realised what he wants and he's going to be around for a long time." Trained by James Fanshawe last season, Grandera was an unlucky third in the French Derby and runner-up in both the Eclipse and Juddmonte Stakes. Under the guidance of Saeed bin Suroor this year he served notice of his potential in winning the prestigious Singapore Airlines Cup at Kranji last month. And the manner of his Ascot win marked him out as a worthy successor to stablemates Dubai Millennium and Fantastic Light. Prince of Wales' Stakes (Class A) (Group One) 1. Grandera 4-1 | |
See also:  19 Jun 02 | Photo Galleries Top Royal Ascot 2002 stories now: Links to more Royal Ascot 2002 stories are at the foot of the page. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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