Royal Ascot 2024: Stakes cruise to victory in Norfolk Stakes

Stocker (12-1) stormed to victory in the opening leg of day three of the 2024 Royal Ascot Norfolk Stakes to give trainer Karl Burke another juvenile success at the meeting.

the two-year-old colt, under James Doyle, powered through the center of the track to win the five-furlong Group Two contest. It was a case of deja vu as 24 hours earlier Leovanni had also won the opener for Liverpool FC fan Burke, jockey Doyle and powerful owners Wathnan Racing.

Burke’s stable at Middleham is on fire at the moment and it was another juvenile success in the peacock blue and gold colors of the Emir of Qatar’s racing operation, which became a force on British circuits last summer and even more so this one. Having been green when he made his successful debut at Beverley, the €460,000 purchase was much more professional this time around. Under Doyle, Shareholder initially missed the break as the field split into two groups with 10-11 favorite Whistlejacket prominent in the grandstand side group. But as the far side moved clear, Shareholder, who was traveling very well, passed and scored a distance from Tropical Storm (11-1), with Arizona Blaze (14-1) another head back in place three. Aidan O’Brien’s Whistlejacket, under Ryan Moore, stayed a short head further back in fourth but never quite reached the smart winner.

Winning jockey Doyle said: “Still learning. I tried to hold him as long as possible until I got to the inside pole, I just wanted to give him time to organize. His debut was a bit messy. at Beverley, it’s a tough place to teach a horse, but he’s learned a lot. Big thanks to Karl Burke, he’s produced these nice horses, which wasn’t very easy to be confident, Karl, so when he’s confident, you respect his opinion.”

On the growing influence of owners on British racing, Doyle added: “It’s great for British racing to have a superpower that really gets behind British racing. It’s been a tough sell, our sport, hasn’t it, so take note when people want to invest and they deserve all the success.”

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