Always Smile finishes close second

The three-year-old filly, the sire of Cape Cross, was edged out by a nose by winner Osaila, trained by Richard Hannon and ridden by Frankie Dettori.

Osaila, ridden by Dettori (third left), wins the Sandringham race ahead of Always Smile, ridden by Doyle (right). — Reuters

Abu Dhabi — Godolphin Racing’s Always Smile, trained by Dubai World Cup-winning trainer Saeed bin Suroor, finished a close second in the Sandringham Handicap Listed Race at the Berkshire racetrack at Royal Ascot, UK.

The three-year-old filly, the sire of Cape Cross, was edged out by a nose by winner Osaila, trained by Richard Hannon and ridden by Frankie Dettori.

Always Smile, the ride of James Doyle, was in the mid-pack but managed to go clear and soon took the lead. But she encountered a late challenge from Osaila as they went for a fight to the finish. Osaila just about managed to win the thrilling race run over a mile. It was the first time that Always Smile had missed out on the top spot after having won all her previous three races in Doncaster, Wolverhampton and Kempton in the UK.

Meanwhile, Risen Sun, saddled by Charlie Appleby and ridden by Dubai World Cup-winning jockey William Buick, finished 16th in the same race. Toscanini, trained by Michael Halford and ridden by James Doyle, finished fifth in the Jersey Stakes Group 3. The Willie McCreery-trained Devonshire was 15th in the same race.

Rah Rah, trained by Mark Johnston and ridden by Buick, was 10th in the Queen Mary Stakes Group 2. At Chelmsford, Gossiping, trained by Charlie Appleby and the ride of Kevin Scott, was fifth in the Lookers Land Rover Bishop’s Stortford Handicap.

Appleby’s Roaring Forties, ridden by Shane Gray, was second in the Browns Pre-Owned Jewellery And Watch Experts EBF Maiden Stakes, in Ripon. Chamunda, trained by John O’Shea, was fourth under Patrick Moloney in the Only A Little Bit Over 2yo Fillies Maiden Plate, in Seymour, Australia.