By Tom Frary
Providing owner-breeder Fiona Carmichael with the ultimate thrill on Wednesday, Carmers put another feather in Wootton Bassett's cap by breaking the 14-furlong track record in Royal Ascot's G2 Queen's Vase. Becoming the first to dip under three minutes here, the unbeaten Paddy Twomey-trained Listed Yeats Stakes winner recorded a 3/4-of-a-length success from Furthur (Waldgeist), with a head back to Rahiebb (Frankel) in third.
“I knew he would stay and I knew turning in that Billy looked comfortable,” Twomey said after greeting his breakthrough first Royal Ascot winner. “When the bell rang, I thought that we had a chance, because staying is his game. He is obviously going to have an entry in the St Leger–we will see. He has ran three times, won three times, and hopefully he continues doing that.”
Furthur's trainer Andrew Balding said, “We are thrilled. It is a really fun syndicate that we've got together, and he wasn't an expensive horse. He has given us a huge amount of enjoyment. Hopefully, there's more to come as well. We might look at the [G3] Bahrain Trophy if he comes out of this all right. He stays well and might be a Leger horse later in the year.”
Roger Varian said of Rahiebb, “He has run a really good race. A horse to look forward to, hopefully for the next year or two in that staying division. He's still a baby and didn't behave great in the prelims, just showing a bit of immaturity. I think when you throw everything into the mix, he's a nice horse who performed very well. A bit frustrating we didn't quite bring it home, but a nice one for the future.”
A FIRST #ROYALASCOT WINNER FOR PADDY TWOMEY AS CARMERS TAKES THE QUEEN'S VASE! pic.twitter.com/3QImI2FjWz
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 18, 2025
Pedigree Notes
Carmers' dam Signe is a daughter of the unraced Theatrical mare Green Room, who produced Speightstown's G1 Prix Jean Prat-winning sire Lord Shanakill and Galileo's Oaks heroine Forever Together. The latter's G1 Fillies' Mile-winning full-sister Together Forever achieved notoriety as the producer of Justify's generation leader City Of Troy. Signe's 2-year-old colt by Toronado is named American Cup, while she also has a yearling filly by New Bay.
Wednesday, Royal Ascot, Britain
QUEENS VASE-G2, £265,000, Ascot, 6-18, 3yo, 14f 34yT, 2:59.53, g/f.
1–CARMERS (IRE), 128, c, 3, by Wootton Bassett (GB)
1st Dam: Signe (Ire), by Sea The Stars (Ire)
2nd Dam: Green Room, by Theatrical (Ire)
3rd Dam: Chain Fern, by Blushing Groom (Fr)
1ST GROUP WIN. O-Fiona Carmichael; B-Westward Bloodstock Ltd; T-Paddy Twomey; J-Billy Lee. £150,282. Lifetime Record: SW-Ire, 3-3-0-0, $244,339. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Furthur (Ire), 128, c, 3, Waldgeist (GB)–Danamight (Ire), by Danetime (Ire).
1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (€65,000 Wlg '22 GOFNO1; 58,000gns Ylg '23 TATOCT). O-The Merry Pranksters & Partner; B-Max Morris; T-Andrew Balding. £56,975.
3–Rahiebb (GB), 128, c, 3, Frankel (GB)–Playful Sound (GB), by Street Cry (Ire).
1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. (240,000gns RNA Ylg '23 TATOCT). O-Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum; B-Newsells Park Stud; T-Roger Varian. £28,514.
Margins: 3/4, HD, NK. Odds: 4.50, 20.00, 9.00.
Also Ran: Shackleton (Ire), Scandinavia, Hallelujah U (GB), Titanium Emperor (Ire), Pinhole (GB), Too Soon (GB), Asmarani (Ire), Spinning Wheel (GB), Al Wasl Storm (Ire), Devil's Advocate (GB).
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