Nick Smith, the Head of Communications andInternational Racing at Ascot Racecourse in the UK, ispreparing to embark on a three week international tour
to promote Ascot Racecourse--specifically Royal Ascot,
the G1 Betfair King George, and QIPCO British
Champions Day--to horsemen worldwide. Smith will bein the U.S. from today through Feb. 11, and the TDN
sat down with him to find out what his plans are andwhat Ascot has to offer.
TDN: Can you describe the purpose of your visit toAmerica, and what you hope to achieve?
NS: I travel to the States at least twice a year, andfrom time to time to Canada (Woodbine), to promote
Ascot=s race program to horsemen there. The purpose
is to raise awareness of the Royal Meeting in June,
principally, as well as the [G1] Betfair King George inJuly. Also there=s the jockeys= competition here inAugust, the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup, and we=ve
often had American and Canadian riders here for that.
Last year Chantal Sutherland and Emma Jayne Wilsonrode in the first ever girls international team withHayley Turner.
They were both brilliant, as was the charming Aaron
Gryder, in the men=s international team. The press lovedthem.
TDN: What does your agenda look like, and who do you
intend to meet with?
NS: It=s a heavy and intense schedule. I will be in theU.S. from Feb. 1 to 11, starting off at the Fair Grounds,
on to Gulfstream, and thento Santa Anita. After that I
go to Tokyo, Hokkaido,
Melbourne and Sydney,then home after three
weeks on the road andgoodness knows how
many miles. I do a roundthe-world tour at about
Nick Smith
this time every year, then I
go to Dubai in March for
the World Cup meeting, and Singapore in May for theirinternational races. It=s a worldwide campaign--we lookto get the best in the world, from all corners of theworld, to Royal Ascot.
In terms of who I specifically intend to meet, there
are some people I know well who I see every year, suchas Kenny McPeek, Ken Ramsey and Wesley Ward. They
have a very international outlook. There are others whoI have met several times and who have dipped their toe
in the water already. Todd Pletcher would be thehighest profile amongst them.

I have an excellent advisor in the U.S. in HRTV=s
Stephen Nagler, and he and the International Racing
Bureau are contracted to Ascot to set up meetings, andput me in front of owners and trainers who haveexpressed an interest, either at dinner or at the track,
whatever suits them.
I also want to discuss the Shergar Cup with Gary
Stevens and Rosie Napravnik. I spoke to Rosie about
being on this year=s girls= team at the Woodbine Mile in
September and want to follow that up. She is a star.
TDN: Are there any specific American horses you aretargeting to attend this year=s Royal Ascot meeting?
NS: Obviously number one on anyone=s list would beAnimal Kingdom. I spoke to Barry Irwin briefly in
Melbourne in November, and Graham Motion has been
making encouraging noises. It=s early days, but I=ll befollowing that up. He could run in the Queen Anne overa mile or the Prince of Wales=s S. over 10 furlongs.
Wise Dan would be on
anyone=s list, of course, but
at this stage, and quite
understandably, connections
are less keen to travel. He=s
the best miler in the worldnow--quite something for anAmerican turf horse. On topof that there are the turf
Animal Kingdom
sprinters who don=t have ahuge amount of opportunity
Adam Coglianese Photoin the U.S. at the highest
level, especially in the summer. Mizdirection would
obviously be the number one pick at this stage. Reallythough it=s a bit like betting--Stephen and I have to pickhorses that we think might come through and makeRoyal Ascot horses, and then approach connections.
TDN: Have you been pleased with the level of American
participation at Royal Ascot in recent years? Why
should Americans be encouraged to ship their horses
overseas for the meeting?
NS: I am pleased simply because we have had two
2-year-old winners trained by Wesley and both he andKenny McPeek have been second in massive races-Wesley with Cannonball in 2009 [second in the G1Golden Jubilee] and Ken with Hard Buck [second in the2004 G1 King George]. We have had several American
runners in between and since, but sadly when Todd
came with some good chances including Breeders= Cupwinner More Than Real in 2011, the ground just went
against them all. It=s quite rare to have soft ground at
Royal Ascot, and they were unlucky. The filly wasowned by Bobby Flay, who was realistic throughout
and took the bad luck really well. I hope and think hewill come back with another one. I=m sure Ken Ramsey,
who has hit the board, will get his elusive Royal Ascot
win too. I=ve got to know him well and it would give me
so much pleasure to see him up on the winners=podium.

People come from all around the world for very
different reasons. For some it is the prestige of winningon the ultimate global stage. For some, certainly in theU.S. in sprinting terms, the prize money comes intoplay. That would be less relevant for horses coming
over from Asia, where the prize money is astronomical.
For them it is prestige and, crucially, breeding value.
You make into a super-stallion by winning at Royal
Ascot. That=ll be high in the minds of Team Valor I
would imagine, but sadly for us irrelevant to theconnections of Wise Dan.

Following the publication of the World Thoroughbred
Rankings this month, it is interesting to note that thebest four horses in the world ran with us in 2012-Frankel (who won five times at Ascot, a third of hiscareer), Cirrus des Aigles from France, Black Caviar
from Australia and Excelebration from Ireland. After therecalibration exercise, eight of the 13 horses to achievea 135+ rating since ratings began in 1977 had won atAscot. So we have always been about the best--theelite.

TDN: Considering past performances of American
horses at Ascot, what type of horse is best suited tothe course?

TDN: What incentives are there for people to travel
their horses overseas to participate at Royal Ascot,
both monetary and non-monetary?

NS: Ascot is a pretty demanding track, so whatever
distance you are looking at, your horse has got to getit. That=s why the Queen Anne would be really live forAnimal Kingdom, because it is a very searching mile. Hewould be fine at 10 furlongs too, of course. I would say
sprinter/milers in the U.S. are ideally suited to the six
furlongs of the G1 Diamond Jubilee S., which Black
Caviar won last year. I really wanted to get The Factor
last year. He would have been ideal. George Bolton waspretty keen, but Bob Baffert probably less so, but after
Dubai it was academic anyway.
That was a real shame, as he would have given Black
Caviar something to think about under thecircumstances, I=m sure. Precocious, early season quickto-hand 2-year-olds may have an advantage over manyof ours, who are really just starting out in June. Of
course, there are also different medication restrictions
in place in the UK, so
anyone planning to comeover needs to be on top of
those, and we can help
them with the details onthat.
TDN: How has the level ofAscot Racecourse
international participation at
Racing Post PhotoRoyal Ascot changed inrecent years, and why is it
important for Royal Ascot to have strong internationalparticipation?
NS: Perhaps the best illustration of this is the fact thatover 50 horses from outside Europe have contested thetwo Group 1 sprints since the Australian game changer
Choisir won both of them in 2003. Including Choisir,
five Australian sprinters have won and two horses from
Hong Kong, latterly Little Bridge in last year=s G1 King=sStand S.
Royal Ascot is Europe=s defining race meeting. It is
our flat racing Olympics in many ways, and it is key toour brand that the best horses in the world run at RoyalAscot, in the King George or on QIPCO BritishChampions Day. Some 10 years ago, our board had theforesight to embark on this project at a time when theidea of horses travelling across continents in any
significant numbers was ambitious to say the least.

NS: We would generally pay at least half the costs ofthe venture for Group 1 winners, or horses rated 115+
who are proven at the top table. However, in the U.S.
we use a lot more discretion as there are so few
opportunities for sprinters to get a 115 rating. If wethink we have the right horse--like Cannonball--we=ll dothe deal. I don=t like to get too tied down with specificrules in this respect. In addition, simply, connections
will have the time of their lives. There=s nothing like anowners= experience as our guest at Royal Ascot. We
invite them into the Royal Enclosure, give them a great
lunch, great viewing, whatever they want really, withinreason. We have been very flexible on numbers.
Owners are the lifeblood of this game and if they havethe courage to take their horses overseas, they havethe right to be looked after well at the racecourse.
TDN: How has the Global Sprint Challenge contributed
to international participation at Royal Ascot? Do you
think more programs like this for other divisions should
be instated?
NS: It has been fantastic for us. As I have mentioned,
we have had over 50 runners from outside Europe inthe sprints. It=s far from the be all and end all or reason
for coming, but the Challenge is a great mechanism forlinking together the 10 premier sprints in the world, andmarketing them together. There=s a $1-million bonus forwinning three races in three different countries, too.
Black Caviar and Lord Kanaloa from Japan won two lastyear, and it is far from impossible to land that pot. I
think other categories would be more challenging.
Sprinters are more robust, it seems, and tend to race on
for longer. There are no plans for any other categories.
The Asian Mile Challenge struggled even within a region
and the World Series never really caught on. That wasa shame, as there was a lot of money invested andperhaps it was before its time.
TDN: Tell us a bit about the experience of having Black
Caviar at Royal Ascot last year. Have you ever seen abuildup and atmosphere that compared to that day? Do
you think her performance has encouraged or deterred
Australians from shipping to Royal Ascot?

NS: I have never seen anything like it here or overseas,
to be honest. I think she was probably the most highprofile horse that has travelled outside her region inrecent years, although Deep Impact at the Arc probably
runs it close.
The funniest thing was that I remember Pete Moodycoming with Magnus a few years ago, the year that Gai
Waterhouse and Lee Freedman, who are racing royalty
in Australia, had runners. No one wanted to talk toPete, who was just up and coming at the time. Last
year he was beating press off witha baseball bat. They had to hire anagent to look after media
arrangements over here, andgetting to Black Caviar was liketrying to storm an Embassy.
I don=t think there has ever beena more excited and nervous build
Black Caviar at Royalup to a raceday here than thereAscot
was for Black Caviar. In the end it
Racing Post Photo
was a slightly odd climax, but she
won. As I said at the time, don=t judge her until you see
how good Moonlight Cloud is next time out, and she
won a Group 1 in Deauville by daylight. Black Caviar,
not at her best, beat the best sprinter in Europe. She,
like Frankel on Champions Day, did it in adversity andthat is the sign of a true world champion.
As for encouraging other Aussies or otherwise, I
would say it=s par. She didn=t have the easiest
preparation and had problems in the race, but she has
always been fragile. That=s her, not the race. They=ve
won so many times that I=m sure they=ll keep comingback. This year though, the top horse from that region
coming to Royal Ascot is the New Zealand-trained
Ocean Park, who won the [G1] Cox Plate and is on
track for the [G1] Prince of Wales=s S., all being well inDubai. That=ll be really exciting, especially if Animal
Kingdom and Camelot line up.
TDN: With thrilling performances from Black Caviar andFrankel last year, as well as a victory for international
superstar So You Think and a win for the Queen in her
Diamond Jubilee year, last year=s meeting was filledwith great moments that no doubt helped increase
attendance and draw international attention. Do you
expect to be able to match that success this year?
NS: It=s hard to imagine that two horses as good and as
high profile as Frankel and Black Caviar will be seen
together at a race meeting for a long time, and you=reright in that we seemed to live a bit of a charmed life
last year with a winner for the Queen and so manyother highlights--Little Bridge, too. But Royal Ascot andracing were going the right way before they camealong. The Racing For Change initiative has been agreat success here, as indeed has the QIPCO BritishChampions Series, and we=ll use those memories topromote the sport and keep trying to get the best
horses to run here. Not every year is vintage in that
respect. It can=t be or there would be no such thing asvintage. But signs are encouraging that we=ll see some
big names here again in June. Animal Kingdom would
be massive--a Kentucky Derby winner at Royal Ascot.
Who needs Frankel and Black Caviar!

TDN: How does Royal Ascot raise the profile of horse
racing in the mainstream media?
NS: As a definitive social and fashion event in the UK,
it gets a lot of media attention. Photos of hats probably
outnumber photos of horses three to one during theweek, but we=re very relaxed and in fact proud of that.
We produce style guides, working with fashion PR
experts, and we promote the week pretty hard in
fashion circles these days. We have to be very careful
though not to overstep the mark. Royal Ascot is notabout placing celebrities with no interest in racing allover the place, for example. We are custodians of avery special historical institution, and whilst we have amodern and very much customer-facing focus, we areproud of our roots, proud that Royal Ascot is a formal
and Royal occasion, and we make no apology for
setting exacting standards.
TDN: What sets Royal Ascot apart from the world=sbest international meetings?
NS: With its mix of racing at the very highest level anda credible fashion element, Royal Ascot is unique.
Perhaps the four days of the Melbourne Cup Carnival inAustralia comes closest to the Aevent@ feel amongst themajor international race meetings. The Breeders= Cup isdefinitely going theright way in that
respect, especiallywhen it is at Santa
Anita, which, as
someone who has
been to 10
renewals all overthe country, I
would say is its
natural home. It will
never be as formal
Fashion at Royal Ascot
as the big weeks at
Racing Post Photo
Ascot or in
Melbourne and, importantly, nor should it be. The worst
thing anyone running a big international meeting should
do is imitate and assume that the things that work forone audience or culture will automatically transfer toanother. Difference and diversity is always worthcelebrating. We are very lucky to work in a truly global
sport.
Smith can be contacted by phone at +44-7771791449, or by e-mail at nick.smith@ascot.co.uk.
Stephen Nagler can be reached at 858-829-6781, or at
snagler@gmail.com.

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