Royal Ascot 2022: Andrew Balding on Returning to Royal Ascot after his Four Winners there in 2021

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Multiple Group 1 and Classic-winning Flat trainer Andrew Balding has amassed over 250 wins across the last two seasons, including an incredible four winners at Royal Ascot in 2021.

The Betway ambassador’s success at the Royal meeting was a career-best performance that saw him end the week on an equal number of winners as the Leading Trainer John Gosden.

How Balding’s Royal Ascot 2021 unfolded:

Winner no. 1

Coventry Stakes – Berkshire Shadow was a winner in Berkshire itself when finishing best of all in the G2 Coventry Stakes for trainer Andrew Balding. The six-furlong contest for two-year-olds looked up for grabs at the furlong pole, but the Oisin Murphy-ridden winner came with a storming run up the stands’ side rail to win by a length and a quarter at odds of 11/1.

Winner no. 2

Albany Stakes 2021 – After a lunchtime inspection, day four of Royal Ascot was able to go ahead as planned, and it was the 16/1 chance Sandrine who took the opening G3 Albany Stakes for two-year-old fillies. On the rain-softened ground over six furlongs, staying power was likely to come to the fore, and so it proved as Sandrine finished best of all to defeat Hello You (5/1) by a length and a half. Balding said: “I thought the meeting was sure to be off. We were only coming here to have lunch. I am so pleased for Kirsten [Rausing, owner/breeder], and she deserves a winner like this.”

Winner no. 3

Coronation Stakes – Oisin Murphy won the G1 race aboard Alcohol Free (11/2). The filly was fifth in the 1,000 Guineas on her latest start, but turned the tables on the winner that day, Mother Earth (9/2), who finished third. Second place went to Snow Lantern (14/1), a length and a half behind the winner. Alcohol Free – racing in the famous Jeff Smith silks – gave Balding a 109.5/1 Friday Royal Ascot double, and a third winner of the week.  

Reflecting on the week so far, Balding said: “This is the reason we do it. We have been looking forward to this meeting and had such high expectations. We had plenty of horses to run here and we thought we should have one winner with the number of horses we’ve got; two winners is fantastic, but three is cloud nine. We’ll have a bit of fun tonight.”

But the fun did not stop there… Going into the fifth and final day, the Royal Ascot Leading Trainer title was finely poised.

John Gosden, who captured the leading trainer title in 2020, was in pole position to repeat the feat as part of a training partnership with his son Thady (four wins). Kingsclere trainer Andrew Balding (three wins) had enjoyed a memorable week and was not done yet with a couple of leading fancies in the fifth’s day’s runners.

Winner no. 4

Golden Gates Handicap – This three-year-old contest over ten furlongs was among the six prizes added to the race programme in 2020 and one of three newly named contests. Under Oisin Murphy Foxes Tales (13/2) quickened smartly from the rear of the field to win cosily and had two and a quarter lengths in hand over runner-up Visualisation (16/1) at the line.

Balding said: “It has been a fabulous week. I am so pleased to get a winner for King Power. They have been great supporters of ours and it’s been a privilege to train for them, and the horse looked like a good horse as well.”

John & Thady Gosden broke new ground as the first training partnership to take Leading Trainer honours at Royal Ascot. The father and son combination sent out four winners, the same total as Andrew Balding, but took the title by virtue of Reach For The Moon’s second in Saturday’s Listed Chesham Stakes.

Returning to Royal Ascot in 2022

As he gears up for Royal Ascot 2022, Andrew Balding reflects on the success of last year in a video blog for Betway, and looks ahead to his chances this time round.

In this video, featuring footage from upcoming documentary ‘Horsepower’, he discusses:

• His personal highlight from 2021
• The unique pressures of Royal Ascot
• His horse to watch at the 2022 meeting
• The prospect of training a winner for the Queen