Water To Wine storms to 11-length Kempton win, eyes Royal Ascot

Water To Wine did more than win at Kempton, he turned a sharp novice success into a serious Royal Ascot statement. The Kingman colt, owned by George Strawbridge and trained by John and Thady Gosden, powered 11 lengths clear of White Storm in the 11-furlong race as the 1-12 favourite, with Ryan Moore controlling matters from the front and asking for more only when the field was already beaten.

That kind of margin only matters because of the manner of it. Water To Wine had already advertised his ability on debut at Newbury on April 18, when he took the Too Darn Hot Darley Confined EBF Maiden Stakes over 1m3f on good ground by 4¼ lengths from Alderman. Timeform noted that he travelled strongly, led on the bridle two furlongs out and quickened clear a furlong from home. Kempton showed that Newbury was no one-off. It also came after a minor setback, with the colt having been a non-runner in the Chester Vase because he was running a temperature and later removed from the Derby picture.

John Gosden’s view after Kempton was as revealing as the result. Water To Wine stands a good 16.2 hands, he said, and was immature last year. Gosden also said the colt came into the race one good piece of work short and suggested the Kempton run would be the perfect prep for Ascot. That matters because Water To Wine is not being measured against ordinary novice standards now. He is being measured against the sort of colt that can move straight from promise to pattern-level relevance.

The obvious next step is the King Edward VII Stakes, Royal Ascot’s mile-and-a-half Group 2 for three-year-old colts and geldings. Run on Friday, June 19, as the penultimate race on day four of the meeting, it carries £250,000 in prize money and has a history that gives any runner instant stature. First run in 1834 as the Ascot Derby and renamed in 1926, it has recently launched horses such as Japan, Pyledriver and Alenquer toward Group 1 company.

That is why Water To Wine now looks less like a neat prospect and more like a possible meeting player. By Kingman out of Listen In, by Sea The Stars, foaled on March 28, 2023, he has already shown the size, scope and control to fit the Ascot test. Two starts in, he looks the right sort for a race that rewards class, stamina and continued progression.