St James’s Palace Stakes (Group 1)

AIDAN O’Brien became the most successful trainer in Royal Ascot history after Paddington (Ryan Moore) ran out a brilliant winner of the Group 1 St James’s Palace Stakes.

The Ballydoyle maestro went level with Sir Michael Stoute when River Tiber provided him with an 82nd success earlier in the afternoon, and he now stands alone at the top of the rankings.

The St James’s Palace saw a clash of the 2000 Guineas winners in Britain and Ireland with Chaldean (Andrew Balding/Frankie Dettori) looking to repeat his all-the-way tactics from Newmarket, but perhaps forced to do too much in order to get that lead, with Indestructible also keen to go forward, and Isaac Shelby ensuring that the leader couldn’t take a breather by racing prominently.

Chaldean led into the straight having fought off Indestructible, but it was soon clear that a much more potent threat was looming in the shape of the 11/5 second favourite. Ryan Moore had ensured that Paddington was poised to strike despite racing wide of the other runners, and he made short work of a tiring Chaldean when sent to the front over a furlong out, pulling three and three quarter lengths clear at the line, with the latter clinging on to the runner-up spot by a neck from Charyn (Roger Varian/John Egan).

O’Brien said: “Ryan gave him a beautiful ride because he knew it was going to be tactical. He didn’t panic and he produced him at the right time. He’s able to quicken very well and that is what makes good horses great.

“The lads will have to think about whether he stays at a mile for something like the Sussex or goes up in trip. He has all the options because he obviously has the speed of a top miler, but John (Magnier) said to me that this horse would get further than a mile if you wanted him to, no problem.”

“To break the record is amazing and there are so many people to thank for it, I couldn’t do it without them. And Sir Michael is such a special man, we always looked up to him, always. We’re in a very unique position with these horses.”

King’s StaTTtand Stakes (Group 1)

HOLLIE Doyle just missed out on Army Ethos in the previous race, but she gained a much bigger prize for the same connections in the Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes, when 2022 Coventry Stakes winner Bradsell (Archie Watson) justified the decision to supplement him with a brilliant but controversial victory, with Doyle hit with a four-day ban for careless riding after she had failed to prevent the winner from hanging left across main rival Highfield Princess (John Quinn/Jason Hart) in the closing stages.

Doyle’s win was personally hugely significant as it meant she became the first ever female jockey to ride a Group 1 winner at Royal Ascot while she also overtook Hayley Turner as the most successful rider at the meeting, until her colleague equalled the score of four on Docklands in the Britannia on Thursday.

Once again, the main protagonists were always in pole position, with Highfield Princess leading from the stalls before allowing Twilight Gleaming to blaze mid-race, and Bradsell took over from that rival at the quarter-mile post before having to resist the renewed challenge of the favourite. The stewards’ inquiry must have been an agony for Watson, who saw his Dragon Symbol demoted after crossing the line first in the 2021 Commonwealth Cup.

Returned at an SP of 14/1, Bradsell was right back to form having missed much of his two-year-old season through injury, but he has looked a special talent when winning on this day 12 months ago, and with a couple of runs to get him back to full fitness, showed his true worth to win by a length, with outsider Annaf (Mick Appleby/Rossa Ryan) third, another length and a half away.

It was a bold move to supplement Bradsell for this five-furlong contest given his previous form was over further, but Watson was adamant that’s what was needed.

“I thought he showed up best of the horses in the Commonwealth trial,” said the winning trainer. “He got a bit tired late, so we ran in the Sandy Lane, and he ran similar race. I knew it couldn’t have been tiredness that day [and] it was an easy decision to pull back to five.

“I was feeling slightly iffy yesterday when he was 40/1 in the betting, thinking ‘God, we’ve spent quite a lot of money for a 40/1 shot’, but Sheikh Nasser was incredibly supportive and said if it’s the right race then we will go for it. I’m just delighted.”

Queen Anne Stakes (Group 1)

TRIPLE Time started Royal Ascot with something of a surprise by landing the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes at odds of 33/1 under Neil Callan, although the result came as no surprise to trainer Kevin Ryan, who has always held the son of Frankel in the highest regard and gave the winning jockey the simple instruction before the race to “ride him like his dad”.

The winner was always in the front rank under a determined Callan, but it appeared in the first few furlongs that he was over-racing on his first start since October, so credit to his jockey for getting him to reserve enough energy to repel the strong challenge of Inspiral (John and Thady Gosden/Frankie Dettori), with Triple Time digging deep to score by a neck for a famous win. Light Infantry (David Simcock/Jamie Spencer) made the early running, and kept on to finish third, two and a half lengths behind Inspiral.

The winner has had his share of bad luck and missed the 2000 Guineas after going lame in his final piece of work, and he was due to take part in the Lockinge Stakes last month but had to be withdrawn on veterinary advice.

Ryan said: “He got stomach cramp just before the Lockinge and we had to take him out, he’s only had one ordinary run and that was in France in deep ground. Apart from that, when he came back from his little injury at Haydock, he was 80% fit, we had to run him because we were running out of time. Hopefully we’ll now have a full season with him, he’s got his Group 1 and it’s great. I’m delighted for all my team and Sheikh Mohammed Obaid, he’s a big supporter of us. He’s so patient and I’m delighted to get a big one for him, especially here.

“He’s got a massive stride, he has to use it and as long as you can get him to control it over the first two (furlongs), the rest of the race was then pretty relaxed. We knew we had him as good as we could get him without a run, and it has paid off. We’ve got today out of the way and now we can make a plan.”

The win clearly meant a lot to an emotional Callan, who had been plying his trade in Hong Kong until returning to the UK two years ago.

“I’m speechless for once,” said the victorious jockey. “When I came back from riding in Hong Kong, I didn’t really know what to expect. I was lucky that when I came back Kevin Ryan gave me some support. Kevin was so confident in this horse and said he’s the best horse he’s trained.”

Moore kickstarts superb treble on River Tiber

Coventry Stakes (Group 2)

RIVER Tiber was the only representative from the Aidan O’Brien stable in the Group 2 Coventry Stakes – a race he had already won nine times – and punters took the hint that his participation signalled confidence.

They sent the son of Wootton Bassett off at 11/8, and while it would be churlish to say there was never a moment’s doubt, Ryan Moore was always in the right place before driving his mount ahead of Army Ethos (Archie Watson/Hollie Doyle) to score by a neck, with three-quarters of a length back to Bucanero Fuerte in third.

Marble Hill Stakes winner Givemethbeatboys had made headlines when selling to father-and-son duo of Con and Neil Sands for £1.1m at the Goffs London Sale on the eve of the meeting, and Jessie Harrington’s colt made most of the running after stepping slowly from the stalls, only to weaken in the final 100 yards or so as his efforts told. He very much set the race up, however, and the trio who beat him were always close up in the middle to far-side part of the track. Unusually for Ascot, and possibly due to the morning rain, it proved very difficult to come from off the pace here, and that was a theme that continued throughout the day.

All the headlines regarding jockeys at the meeting had naturally focused on Frankie Dettori’s last ever Royal Ascot, but it was Ryan Moore who the bookies favoured to take the riding honours, and he quietly went about his work, with this win the first leg of a treble.

Aidan O’Brien, who had kept the winner at shorter trips for his first two wins, said: “It looked like he needed all of six furlongs there, but he won over five last time.

“We brought him back in trip from his first run and he got a bit of a fright at halfway when he came off the bridle, but we knew then he was going to get six and seven. He won’t mind staying at six, but he’ll be very happy going up to seven.

“He’s a very exciting horse, all ground comes alike as he won on very bad ground first time and then much quicker ground, it doesn’t matter much to him. We thought he was our Coventry horse when we started working him, long before he ran.

“You need your best horse to win the Coventry and he was never disappointing in any of his work. In the first half of the race he was doing everything easily. We always thought he was a Guineas horse. If you think you have a Coventry horse, you almost know you have.”

Out of the spotlight, just as Moore likes it

DAY One of Royal Ascot started with a heavy thunderstorm at around 7am which dropped 10mm of rain on the track, causing the ground to ease to good, with good to soft places on the round course.

Given Chris Stickels had watered on Sunday after the track had missed the predicted weekend rain, there were bound to be some sniping from the sidelines, but I think that’s very unfair on a Clerk who has been very good to connections and punters alike in terms of both information, and in the state of the track. Stickels is not desperate to produce good going at all costs, and Ascot have raced on firm ground for at least one day of this meeting in the last two years.

Also unhappy with Tuesday’s goings on, but for different reasons, was Frankie Dettori, who drew a blank with several fancied mounts, and also copped a nine-day ban for interference riding Saga in the Wolferton Stakes. Cue the Saga Holiday gags.

Dettori is, of course, riding in his last Royal Ascot – unless he decides to retire in the manner of Frank Sinatra – and expectations were high, but Frankie’s drought merely highlighted the excellent form of Ryan Moore.

The latter isn’t one for publicity if he can avoid it, and he must love it when the spotlight is on his old rival; Moore positively ghosted into Ascot to ride a sublime treble on River Tiber, Paddington and Vauban, and there might even have been a small smile on his face as he left the weighing room at the end of the day.