Windsor Castle Stakes (Listed)
KING Of Cloughan caused something of an upset as he shed his maiden tag in the Listed Windsor Castle Stakes, providing trainer Joseph O’Brien with a third winner of the week.
In a finish fought out again by those towards the stands’ side, 33/1 chance King Of Cloughan found the gaps to post a convincing half-length success under Billy Loughnane. Moonrise (66/1) was second, with 125/1 chance Harlequin Sky the same distance further back in third. The Aidan O’Brien-trained 11/4 fav Sergei Diaghilev finished ninth.
A son of St Mark’s Basilica, King Of Cloughan was dropping back in trip after losing out narrowly to Chesham Stakes contender Nola Soul in a seven-furlong maiden at Leopardstown last month.
O’Brien said: “We thought bringing King Of Cloughan back in trip was the right move, but it was hard to fancy him because he’d been beaten in two maidens. But we liked the horse. He got a lovely ride from Billy. I am so delighted for his owner, Michael Burke. Royal Ascot is such a special place that if you’ve got a horse that can line up here and has a reasonable expectation of running well, you’ve got to take your shot, and today was the proof of that.
“I think King Of Cloughan will turn up in a nice two-year-old sprint in the next month or so, you’d hope he might end up in something like the Middle Park.”
Loughnane said: “I wasn’t sure at all what was happening on the right-hand side, but I had a dream passage through. King Of Cloughan relaxed and found a beautiful rhythm. My one instruction was not to use him too soon, so I was delighted to have to wait and then run down P.J. McDonald.
“A winner both days, it doesn’t get any better. I am very fortunate to be in a position to be picking up spare rides like this. I am very grateful.”
Royal Hunt Cup (Heritage Handicap)
DRAWN in stall 33, Rogue Diplomat (28/1) powered up the stands’ rail to win the Royal Hunt Cup, handing dual-purpose trainer James Owen and jockey Harry Davies their first Royal Ascot wins.
Just eight horses came near side in the 28-runner cavalry charge. Davies sent his mount to the front entering the final furlong and the four-year-old stayed on strongly to see off Blue RC (28/1) by a length. The third Indalo (9/1) led home the far side group.
It was an emotional win for Davies, who said: “This is a little bit overwhelming. Royal Ascot is such a special meeting. You come here to try and compete. Without everyone, day to day, it wouldn’t be possible. This is all just a little bit much at the minute.
“I grew up at Hugo Palmer’s yard, my mum’s doing her own pre-training now and I’ve always ridden out from a very young age. Horses are my life. I grew up watching this meeting, so to ride a winner here is really, really great.”
On the race, he said: “The plan was just to ride Rogue Diplomat cold - he always runs his best races when ridden steady. We were confident there would be a lot of pace. Whether we’d be drawn on the right side was something we had to wait and see.
“I thought at halfway that the other side was ahead of us and I was getting a little bit worried. Luckily, the horse I followed took me to beyond the two and he picked up so well. I pinned him to the fence to keep him honest - he can get a bit lonely, but he’s won really well.
“This is what you dream of growing up. I obviously grew up in racing and to ride a Royal Ascot winner is definitely the highlight of my career.”
Winning trainer James Owen said: “We nearly didn’t run him, because of the ground. We took him to France, where it was very, very quick and he didn’t like it. He’s a bloody good horse, who ran well in the Lincoln and was probably a little bit unlucky that day.
“We’ve been knocking on the door, and to get our first Royal Ascot winner is unbelievable. We’ve got a great team and we’re loving it. This is what we want and we’ve got it.”
Kensington Palace Stakes (Fillies’ Handicap)
ALOBAYYAH justified 11/4 favouritism in a Kensington Palace Stakes dominated by trainer William Haggas, who also saddled the third Seren Star (40/1) and fourth Rhapsody (12/1).
The Ghaiyyath filly finished powerfully for Tom Marquand towards the stands’ side and overhauled the James Fanshawe-trained Miss Nightfall (12/1) in the closing strides.
Alobayyah had been restricted to four starts before the day, one at two and just two as a three-year-old and finished an eye-catching third on her return in a course-and-distance handicap last month.
Haggas said: “Alobayyah ran no good last year, then this year she ran very good and we kept her for this. We have had a bit of luck, because I think we were third and fourth as well, so it’s been a good race.
“We trained Alobayyah for a classic, because we thought she was pretty good. That was the wrong thing to do, because she wasn’t ready. It set her back three months and we never really recovered, plus we had lots of other issues. It is very easy for a trainer to be patient, but you need the owners to row in. It is their first Royal Ascot winner and I am absolutely thrilled for them.
“Alobayyah is ridden every day by one of our assistants, Issy Paul - she will be beside herself - and she’s done a great job. I am really, really thrilled. I can’t tell you how much this means. Everyone says it’s a team effort and it certainly is. I’m just lucky enough to be the chap whose name is on the licence.”
Marquand said: “The team has done an awesome job, just taking their time with her and getting her right. I think this filly is really going to start to reward that now. Hopefully this is just the beginning.
“Winners like this, with fillies like this, matter. A lot of hard work goes on behind the scenes and a lot of time, so it’s wonderful. We’re a big team and everybody is so invested in driving the ship in the same direction.”