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H&H analysis: ‘Ascot was rocking once again’ – the full 2021 Royal Ascot report *H&H Plus*

Marcus Armytage

    • Crowds, including The Queen, make a welcome return to the Berkshire amphitheatre where some terrific horses show their flair

    AT some stage in the future, Royal Ascot 2021 will be remembered for the terrific horses which bestrode its stage; the milers Palace Pier (pictured winning, left), Poetic Flare and Alcohol Free; the middle-distance mares Love and, my favourite, Wonderful Tonight; the new kid on the staying block Subjectivist; and the sprinters Campanelle, Dragon Symbol, Oxted and Dream Of Dreams.

    But in the immediate aftermath, while we are still drying out from Friday’s deluge which meant the last two days were run in very testing conditions – heavy is for Cheltenham – it was the return of crowds to racing in some numbers for the first time in 15 months that was one of the main themes of the week.

    The limited window for ticket sales and the hoops of Covid protocols and tests racegoers had to go through once the meeting had been nominated for one of the Government’s “event research programmes” meant it was something of a half-way house between last year’s zero crowd behind-closed-doors and, hopefully, the return of 70,000 for the Gold Cup next year in the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee year.

    This report can also be read in Horse & Hound magazine, on sale date 24 June 2021

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