Prince of Wales’s Stakes (Group 1)

MOSTAHDAF (John and Thady Gosden/Jim Crowley) put up the performance of the day on Wednesday by cruising to a four-length victory over favourite Luxembourg (Aidan O’Brien/Ryan Moore) in the Group 1 Prince Of Wales’s Stakes.

Crowley could be seen with a double handful from some way out as Ryan Moore tried to crank the gallop up in front having led from the stalls on Luxembourg, and the only question was what Mostahdaf would find off the bridle.

The answer was plenty, and with the Champion Stakes 1-2-3 of Bay Bridge, Adayar and My Prospero filling the next three spots, it’s hard to look at this form in anything but a positive light.

For the record, it was Adayar (Charlie Appleby/William Buick) who fared best of that trio this time, beaten half a length for second. The winner came in for late support despite being coltish in the preliminaries and was returned at 10/1.

Mostahdaf was a wide-margin winner of the mile, a furlong and a half Neom Turf Cup at King Abdulaziz racecourse in Riyadh in February but had failed to see out the mile and a half when a good fourth behind Japanese star Equinox in the Dubai Sheema Classic last time out, shaping like the second best horse; the drop back to 10 furlongs looked ideal here, and provided another Group 1 win as a sire for Frankel.

It was a fifth success in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes for co-trainer John Gosden, who first won the race in 1994 with Muhtarram in the same Shadwell colours, now controlled by the late Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum’s daughter Sheikha Hissa.

Standing still

John Gosden said: “I was expecting Mostahdaf to pick up well in the straight but not to make them look like they were standing still. But he did that in Riyadh; he won the Neom Cup and just flew away. When the ground dries up, he’s a brilliant horse.What’s the plan now? That might have been the plan! I always find the Eclipse comes too close. I’d wait for the Juddmonte International; that would be the race for me. He likes to run fresh – too many nights out on the town, we don’t bounce like we used to. I think the Juddmonte International should be the big target.”

Luxembourg’s trainer Aidan O’Brien said: “He ran very well; we are very happy. The winner won very well. The plan was that we would have a look at the King George after today anyway, so it’s possible, but we will see how he is. He is always going to get a mile and a half well, as we know.”

Queen Mary Stakes (Group 2)

CRIMSON Advocate (George Weaver/ John Velazquez) became the fifth US-trained filly to win the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes after clinging on by the narrowest of margins in a heads-up-heads-down battle with the William Haggas-trained Relief Rally (Tom Marquand).

The 9/1 winner led almost all the way, but the runner-up was in from a stride before and after the line, being done on the nod in the closest finish of the day.

Favourite Beautiful Diamond (Karl Burke/Clifford Lee) finished an honourable third, two lengths off the front pair.

Winning trainer George Weaver said: “I have so much respect for the horses over here. It always seems like the European horses are better grass horses than what we have, but I knew our filly was very talented and I was hoping that she would be able to get the job done.

“Don’t get me wrong, the way she won at Gulfstream, I was very excited about her, but like I said, I have tremendous respect for the trainers and horses that are over here.

“I came here eight years ago with a horse [Cyclogenesis] that wasn’t good enough. I thought it would be great if I could ever come back with something that was, and we did.

“When you try to plan things, you try to buy horses for Ascot, it never works out. Things just come together, and this year we’ve got two nice horses to bring over here. I’ve had some great moments, but this ranks right up there.”

Royal Hunt Cup

THE 22/1 chance Jimi Hendrix (Rossa Ryan) led home a remarkable one-two for owners Chelsea Thoroughbreds and trainer Ralph Beckett in the Royal Hunt Cup, a task made all the more remarkable given he and runner-up Sonny Liston (Ryan Moore) raced on opposite sides of the track in a 30-runner cavalry charge.

The winner started slowly on the far side, but snapped onto the bridle after half-way, and hit the front in his group going easily with two furlongs to run before sprinting away.

Sonny Liston burst through later in the stands’ side group, but literally didn’t see which way the winner had gone, with two lengths separating the duo at the line. Awaal (Simon and Ed Crisford/William Buick) was well supported and finished two lengths further back in third, a neck in front of Aerion Power (Sir Michael Stoute/Harry Davies).

Beckett revealed that Ryan Moore had been given the choice of mounts, but his loss is Rossa Ryan’s gain, and the winning jockey was doubling his career tally at Royal Ascot.

“I always felt Jimi had a day like this in him,” said the trainer. “He won the Spring Cup well, but he didn’t go so well back on the Rowley Mile. We’ll probably leave the Rowley Mile out – I thought I’d win a Cambridgeshire with him last year – but it doesn’t matter, he’s won today and it’s wonderful.

“Things haven’t been going great this week so far but to win a Hunt Cup takes a bit of doing. To finish first and second – I am so pleased. Rossa is a guy on the up; it’s great for him and he gave him a peach.”

Duke of Cambridge Stakes (Group 2)

ROGUE Millennium (Danny Tudhope) justified connections’ decision to supplement her for the Group 2 Duke Of Cambridge Stakes, handing trainer Tom Clover the biggest win of his training career so far. Last season’s Lingfield Oaks Trial winner had never raced over a mile but the decision to drop back in distance proved inspired.

Ridden off the rather pedestrian pace, the daughter of Dubawi showed excellent acceleration to throw down her challenge and kept on well to beat long-time leader Random Harvest (Ed Walker/Saffie Osborne) by a neck, with that mare turning around recent Epsom form with Prosperous Voyage (Ralph Beckett/Frankie Dettori), who was a length behind her in third.

Clover deserves great credit for dropping a mile and a half winner back to a mile for a race of this nature, but she has been showing good mid-race speed in her races, most recently when a half length second of seven to Free Wind in the Middleton Stakes at York last month. Random Harvest was given an excellent ride by the underrated Saffie Osborne, and despite her odds, she was entitled to beat Prosperous Voyage on Epsom form, as she was conceding 3lb in the Princess Elizabeth Stakes.

Clover said: “It hasn’t really sunk in, to be honest. It’s unbelievable, really. You dream about this all year round, and we managed to go to the sales with our team to buy this filly for 35,000 grand for The Rogues [owners Rogues Gallery, who can name ITV Racing’s Rishi Persad among their number], who have been huge supporters of mine. It’s just been amazing. It’s what we all do it for.

“Rogue Millennium is gorgeous to look at. She’ll obviously be a broodmare at some stage and it’s lovely to have some blacktype. A race like this is career-defining. I can now say I am a Royal Ascot-winning trainer, which is hugely important for us and for the whole team.”

Mostahdaf has the last laugh

AFTER Tuesday’s rain, it was business as usual at Ascot on Wednesday with the ground quickening up to good to firm on the straight course, and as usual, the meeting threw up its share of stories, with trainers George Weaver and Tom Clover getting their first wins at the meeting in emotional circumstances.

That was definitely the case for Weaver, who saddled Crimson Advocate to land a thrilling renewal of the Queen Mary, and his joy was increased by the presence of wife Cindy, who suffered a brain injury when a horse she was riding collapsed on her at Saratoga last summer. In a coma for months after that incident, she has made an almost-miraculous recovery to be able to attend the meeting and described being able to watch the filly win as “like a dream come true”.

Her recovery is not yet complete, but her stoicism and humour in the face of such a challenge was impressive and made moment of the day for me.

Ballsy decision

Clover has had a few near-misses in his short career, but he made the bold and ballsy decision to supplement Rogue Millennium for the Duke of Cambridge Stakes and it paid off in style for winning syndicate The Rogues Gallery.

That call was gutsy for two reasons – the filly was also supplemented for last year’s Oaks but failed to stay the trip, and syndicates don’t have unlimited funds to pay supplementary entry fees, so going back cap in hand would have required some conviction, and to make such a call about a filly who had never raced over a mile before is a risky call.

Thankfully for Tom, his judgment proved spot-on, and the four-year-old can take her enthusiastic group of owners to greater heights on this evidence.

Equine star of the day, without a doubt, was Mostahdaf, who laughed at Luxembourg et al in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes. More fool those of us who don’t pore over the Saudi form book, as John and Thady Gosden’s entire was a hugely impressive winner at Riyadh in February before meeting the best horse in the world at Meydan.

Equinox looked unbeatable in the Dubai Sheema Classic, but Mostahdaf was the only one who made any kind of race of it over a trip he clearly doesn’t stay. Most of us were guilty of ignoring those signs in the Middle East, but the increasing battle between Saudi and UAE racing for supremacy means there will be greater incentive for top-class horses to race in both jurisdictions, and that will have more and more impact on the top European pattern races