Frankie Dettori rode a 150.25/1 treble on the final day at Royal Ascot, with his wins including the Group 1 Coronation Stakes on Jessica Harrington’s Alpha Star.
The Italian also partnered Palace Pier (4/1) to victory in the Group 1 St James’s Palace Stakes this afternoon and anyone using promotion for bet365 could have got 6/1 in the morning, Dettori was riding for trainer John Gosden and owner Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum.
The three-year-old Kingman colt, who is now unbeaten in four starts, got the better of both Pinatubo (11/8f) and Wichita (9/4) in a thrilling finish to the Group 1 contest.
The trio battled each other inside the final furlong before Palace Pier lengthened well to win by a length from European Champion 2-year-old of last season, Pinatubo, with Qipco 2000 Guineas runner-up Wichita another head back in third.
For Dettori, the win was his sixth of the week and his 73rd Royal Ascot victory in total.
“What a day!” exclaimed Dettori, “We always thought a lot of Palace Pier, but he got a bit sleepy on us in the mornings and we were scratching our heads. John [Gosden] did a great job, and he thought, let’s start him off in a handicap at Newcastle to see whether he would wake up, and he did. We threw him in at the deep end today, but in the back of our minds we knew that there was a good horse in that big body, and we just were not sure how much of a good horse he was. Today was no fluke.”
3.00pm St James’s Palace Stakes (Group 1) (British Champions Series)
1 Palace Pier John Gosden 3-9-00 Frankie Dettori 4/1
2 Pinatubo Charlie Appleby 3-9-00 William Buick 11/8f
3 Wichita Aidan O’Brien 3-9-00 Ryan Moore 9/4
7 ran
Distances: 1, hd
Time: 1m 42.38s
Hello Youmzain (4/1) landed the second Group 1 sprint of his career when taking the Diamond Jubilee Stakes, a race in which Denis Hogan’s Sceptical started as 2/1f.
The winning four-year-old Kodiac colt gave jockey Kevin Stott a first Royal Ascot win and trainer Kevin Ryan his sixth. Hello Youmzain broke quickly from the stalls and took the 10-strong field along, before being headed by Ireland’s leading sprinter, Sceptical, entering the final furlong. Just when it looked as though Hogan’s filly, who cost only £2,800 at a Godolphin dispersal of horse stock sale, was about to claim a victory at the highest level, Hello Youmzain rallied to regain the lead. He held off the late challenge of Dream Of Dreams (8/1) by a head, with Sceptical a neck further back.
3.35pm Diamond Jubilee Stakes (Group 1) (British Champions Series)
1 Hello Youmzain Kevin Ryan 6-9-03 Kevin Stott 4/1
2 Dream Of Dreams Sir Michael Stoute 6-9-03 Ryan Moore 8/1
3 Sceptical Denis Hogan 4-9-03 Frankie Dettoti 2/1f
10 ran
Distances: hd, nk
Time: 1m 13.42s
US trainer Wesley Ward sent out his 11th Royal Ascot winner when the Irish-bred Campanelle (9/2), in the colours a former winner of the race, Lady Aurelia, took the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes under Frankie Dettori.
The daughter of Kodiac, who sired three Group winners on the day, came out on top by three-quarters of a length from Sacred (5/1) after a sustained battle in the closing stages, with David Loughnane’s 100/1 shot Caroline Dale in third.
The win was a fourth Queen Mary Stakes for Ward following Jealous Again (2009), Acapulco (2015) and Lady Aurelia (2016).
1.15pm Queen Mary Stakes (Group 2)
1 Campanelle Wesley Ward 2-9-00 Frankie Dettori 9/2
2 Sacred William Haggas 2-9-00 James Doyle 5/1
3 Caroline Dale David Loughnane 2-9-00 David Egan 100/1
Nando Parrado caused a big shock when becoming the longest priced winner in the modern era at Royal Ascot, defying odds of 150/1 to take the Group 2 Coventry Stakes.
The two-year-old Kodiac colt had finished fifth on debut at Newmarket and was always in a prominent position today under jockey Adam Kieby. Nando Parrado took the lead just inside the final two furlongs and saw off all challengers to score by a length from Qaader (3/1). The Aidan O’Brien-trained favourite, Admiral Nelson, could only finish in eight place.
1.50pm Coventry Stakes (Group 2)
1 Nando Parrado Clive Cox 2-9-01 Adam Kirby 150/1
2 Qaader Mark Johnston 2-9-01 Jim Crowley 3/1
3 Saeiqa John Gosden 2-9-01 Martin Dwyer 25/1
15 ran
Non-Runners: 9 Mehmo (Going)
Distances: 1l, 1¼l
Time: 1m 15.21s
5/2f Admiral Nelson (8th)
