By Sean Cronin
Japanese challenger Satono Reve (Lord Kanaloa) was narrowly denied in last year's G1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot and suffered heartbreak again as Shadwell's homebred William Haggas trainee Almeraq (Dark Angel) swooped fast and late to claim a career high on Group 1 debut in a pulsating renewal of the six-furlong feature.
Almeraq was one of two fallers in last year's Listed Garrowby Stakes at York, an incident from which rider Jim Crowley has yet to return to the saddle.
“As you know, Almeraq had a fall at York last year and poor Jim [Crowley] got injured,” the winning trainer said. “The horse took a long time to come back and it has been gently, gently this spring. He won nicely at Salisbury, but this is a completely different jump in class and he has managed to cope with it. He's a beautiful horse and we have always loved him. He is a big, strong, powerful horse, and I think he will get better because he is pretty lightly raced. I thought this ground might be a bit quick for him; he has got big feet on him, but it clearly was not. Slow-ground horses can cope with fast ground on the straight track here. I am not saying he is a slow-ground horse, but he was terribly impressive one day on slow ground at Ayr. He has taken his form to a new level and we are absolutely delighted with him. I am thrilled for Shadwell. I have been involved with them for quite some time now, and to have a Group 1 winner for them on the biggest stage is terrific. It is very hard for all of us to win here, everyone is trying to compete, and to win is great. Almeraq was pretty shook up after York. It is quite hard to fall in a race like that at speed, and for a young horse going at speed it was difficult, but we gave him a lot of time. There was no need to get him ready for the autumn, and this has proved it. Now it is onwards and upwards.”
Rider Tom Marquand added, “I am not just saying this for effect, but my first thought when I thought I had won was for Jim [Crowley]. This horse and he both took horror falls at the back end of last year. Jim is fighting for his career, he should be aboard this horse, it is his ride. Testament to this lad and his attitude in coming back from a fall like that. The Somerville Lodge team are unbelievable. They have done it before with Tiber Flow when he had a heavy fall and brought him back. I am blessed to be riding for them. The horse did an exceptional job today of getting himself up from a crowded position that he was not enjoying all too much, his confidence is still probably building a bit. It probably made him look like he was in trouble a long way out, he was not really, he just did not know how to wedge himself back in. He obviously had that run at Salisbury where he was down the inside and that would have done him a lot of good. I think, if anything today, he will realise that it is not all as scary as it might have been at York that day. He is a wonderfully talented horse. Andrew Tinkler rides him every day, who everyone will know him from his jumping days. Fantastic that they have got the horse back to this level. I think he is the epitome of Somerville Lodge. They give horses time and have been so patient with him. To have Sheikha Hissa here today is wonderful, and I had not ridden Somerville Lodge a Group One Royal Ascot winner, so that was important.”
Crowley was on hand to witness the victory and said, “He was in the [G1] Haydock Park Sprint Cup on the Saturday, but ran instead in the Listed race [at York] on the Sunday. I wish he had run on the Saturday because I would have been on him today. We always believed he was a Group 1 horse and it was amazing for William Haggas to get him back because he took just as heavy a fall. To get that horse back from that is amazing. Mixed emotions because I want to be on him. It was a tough watch, I have never experienced anything like that in my life, but I am so pleased for everyone involved.”
The eventual winner was positioned in midfield as the sharp-breaking Regional (Territories) set the tone up front through halfway.
Coming under pressure to reduce arrears approaching the quarter-mile marker, the 25-1 chance moved to within range of the leaders entering the final furlong and delivered a stunning late burst of speed to deny Satono Reve by a pixel in a four-way photograph.
Chris Waller trainee and 15-8 favourite Joliestar (Zoustar) held every chance in the dying embers and finished a short-head back in third, herself a head in front of the Patrice Cottier-conditioned French raider Stolen Kiss (Chachnak) in fourth.
Almeraq becomes the fourth winner of the race for Dark Angel, who was also responsible for Lethal Force and dual winner Khaadem, the latter finishing 14th in this year's edition.
Chris Waller said of Joliestar, “I am just delighted that she turned up. She performed very well and fought out a great finish, which was typical of the week. We have seen some great finishes. Unfortunately, that was one of them and we just missed out, but it was just an honour to be here. It was important coming into the race to make sure that she brought her Australian form here and stood it up, and she really did that. We did not win today, but she has certainly got her admirers and that is what international racing is all about. I thought we had to ask her a little bit earlier than I would have liked. It would have been nice to have put a length on them, so I knew it was going to be tough the last 400 metres. She was brave, and it was literally just the last 20 or 30 yards. It was a great run.”
Pauline Chehboub of Gousserie Racing, co-owner of fourth home Stolen Kiss, said, “It is a bit frustrating, but today he showed he is a Group 1 horse so we are very happy with that. He is a young horse, only four, and the best is yet to come. He showed a lot of talent today and I am very confident for the future. He will win a Group 1 for sure, but I do not know where. It could be Newmarket, or it could be Deauville in the [G1] Prix Maurice de Gheest.”
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ALMERAQ STRIKES IN THE QUEEN ELIZABETH II JUBILEE STAKES! #RoyalAscot pic.twitter.com/GBqU6UyDN8
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 20, 2026
Pedigree Notes
Almeraq is the first of five foals and one of two winners from as many runners out of an unraced half-sister to G1 Cheveley Park Stakes and G1 Flying Five heroine Fairyland (Kodiac) and dual Group-winning G1 Irish 1000 Guineas third Now Or Never (Bushranger).
His second dam Queenofthefairies (Pivotal) is an unraced half-sister to three black-type performers headed by multiple Group 1-winning dual European champion Dream Ahead (Diktat).
The winner is a half-brother to the unraced two-year-old colt El Asjadi (Night Of Thunder), a yearling filly by Blue Point and a weanling filly by Dubawi.
Saturday, Royal Ascot, Britain
QUEEN ELIZABETH II JUBILEE STAKES-G1, £1,000,000, Ascot, 6-20, 4yo/up, 6fT, 1:11.82, g/f.
1–ALMERAQ (GB), 131, c, 4, by Dark Angel (Ire)
1st Dam: Manaajim (Ire), by Muhaarar (GB)
2nd Dam: Queenofthefairies (GB), by Pivotal (GB)
3rd Dam: Land Of Dreams (GB), by Cadeaux Genereux (GB)
1ST GROUP WIN; 1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O/B-Shadwell Estate Company Ltd; T-William Haggas; J-T Marquand. £567,100. Lifetime Record: 7-4-2-0, $838,124. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Satono Reve (Jpn), 131, h, 7, Lord Kanaloa (Jpn)–Ciliege (Jpn), by Sakura Bakushin O (Jpn). (¥54,000,000 Wlg '19 JRHAYF). O-Hajime Satomi; B-Shirai Stud Farm; T-Noriyuki Hori. £215,000.
3–Joliestar (Aus), 128, m, 6, Zoustar (Aus)–Jolie Bay (Aus), by Fastnet Rock (Aus). (950,000 Ylg '22 INGEAY). O-Cambridge Stud; B-C Barham; T-Chris Waller. £107,600.
Margins: NO, SHD, HD. Odds: 25.00, 2.50, 1.88.
Also Ran: Stolen Kiss (Fr), Lake Forest (GB), Great Wish (Ire), Comanche Brave (Ire), Lugal (Jpn), Sayidah Dariyan (Ire), Regional (GB), Kind Of Blue (GB), Time For Sandals (Ire), Overpass (Aus), Khaadem (Ire), Aramram (Ire), Sajir (Ire), Jasour (GB), Flora Of Bermuda (Ire). Scratched: Powerful Glory (Ire).
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