‘It’s an aspirational thing’ – Cambridge aims Joliestar towards Royal Ascot

When Hello Youmzain carried Cambridge Stud’s black, yellow checks and armbands and checked cap silks to Group 1 victory at Royal Ascot in mid-2020, the world was in lockdown.

Brendan and Jo Lindsay, the owners of New Zealand’s Cambridge Stud, were forced to watch the stallion prospect’s Diamond Jubilee performance from afar because of the pandemic.

Hello Youmzain’s Group 1 was a momentous occasion for the Lindsays as they went about rebuilding Cambridge Stud’s sires roster following the sudden loss of three stallions, Tavistock and Burgundy as well as shuttler Roaring Lion.

Sir Brendan and Lady Jo didn’t get to enjoy the pomp and pageantry of Royal Ascot by welcoming back Hello Youmzain to the winner’s enclosure.

But that could change this year with their three-time Group 1-winning sprinter Joliestar being aimed at the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes, the straight-course race won previously by Australian sprinters Merchant Navy (2018), Black Caviar (2012), Starspangledbanner (2010) and Choisir (2003).

Joliestar resumed with a dominant win in the Expressway Stakes at Randwick on February 14 with her trainer Chris Waller likely to run her second up in the Group 1 Canterbury Stakes at Randwick on March 7 with the Newmarket Handicap slated as a back-up option if Randwick is rain-impacted. 

Cambridge Stud chief executive Henry Plumptre revealed that Ascot’s Nick Smith had already issued an invitation for Joliestar to run at the Royal meeting in June. 

“It’s an aspirational thing for us, we’ve been invited by Ascot, and we’ve been talking to Nick Smith about it, so we’ve done some preliminary planning for her,” Plumptre said. 

“There’s a flight booked in May and, at this stage, she will probably go if she comes through the next two runs OK. 

“If she’s running in the Canterbury Stakes, if it’s raining in Sydney, she’ll go to Melbourne and run in the Newmarket.

“If she’s in Melbourne and runs in the Newmarket, it’s unlikely she’ll come back up to Sydney (for the TJ Smith Stakes before Royal Ascot).”

A trip to the northern hemisphere, even if she was to race on next season, would almost certainly rule out a third tilt at The Everest, says Plumptre.

“I often say, the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result, and in respect of Joliestar in The Everest, I just don’t think it’s the right race for her,” he said. 

“It’s a race where you’ve got to have really good tactical speed out of the gates, and sometimes she’s not that quick out of the gates, and in The Everest, you’ve only got to blink and they’ve gone.

“She’s proved that twice now. A horse like Ka Ying Rising can come out of the gates at 100 miles an hour and took a position. 

“If you look at that race last year, they’d only gone 200 metres, and (jockey) Zac Purton was in the perfect position (on Ka Ying Rising.”

Black Caviar Lightning Stakes winner Tentyris could also head to Royal Ascot while Beiwacht, another Godolphin-owned three-year-old colt, is also a possible overseas runner for Waller.

The Golden Rose winner, who was unplaced in the Lightning Stakes, could head to Dubai and possibly the UK if his form warrants an international campaign.

The Henry Dwyer-trained Asfoora, who won at Royal Ascot two years ago and at York and in France last year, is also back in work at Newmarket, preparing for her swansong campaign before heading to stud.

Plumptre said consideration will also be given to retiring Joliestar before the start of the breeding season, depending on Waller’s advice to the Lindsays.

“She could (go to stud in the northern hemisphere) and that’s an exciting thought. The prospect of putting her to Frankel or Dubawi or something like that (is a possibility), but I’m not sure how well it works, travelling a mare in foal,” he said. 

“I’d rather get her home and find a top stallion down here, whether it’s one of ours or whether it’s something in Hunter Valley. I’d rather get a home and not have the complicated thing of trying to get her in foal to southern hemisphere time.

“But these are all conversations that we’ll have down the track, if and when she gets there.”