Rapid Rosallion, Billy the Kid, the master of Ballydoyle, Running Lion tamed and a Wild handicap success… all were Royal Ascot highlights

Royal Ascot has brought in big numbers this week and here are some highlights from a great five days in Berkshire…

HORSE OF THE WEEK…

It has to be Rosallion after his thrilling victory in the St James’s Palace Stakes. Second in the Guineas at Newmarket before winning the Irish equivalent, the Richard Hannon-trained colt decisively defeated Henry Longfellow with a devastating foot strike. He is a true champion miler and jockey Sean Levey insists he can be even better if he sets a stronger pace.

He is versatile off-road and looks capable of beating the older milers at Goodwood in the Sussex Stakes later in the season. Hannon insists Rosallion is the best he has trained and showed why he needed to brighten the opening day at Royal Ascot.

JOCKEY OF THE WEEK…

The easy option here would give credit to Ryan Moore for another typically excellent meeting at Royal Ascot, but he is well established and has the ammunition to really thrive anyway.

Teenager Billy Loughnane celebrates a breakthrough success in the Coventry Stakes

Jockey Ryan Moore and trainer Aidan O’Brien with the Gold Cup after a great week at Ascot

Oisin Murphy also had a strong week in a place where he excels, but the credit goes to 18-year-old Billy Loughnane. Anyone who regularly watches racing knew he was an excellent student, but progressing to the big leagues requires much more. When the allowances decrease in weight, opportunities may also disappear. But ‘Billy The Kid’ showed he’s here for the long haul with two outstanding successes on the biggest stage.

Sending an 80-1 chance Rashabar to success in the Coventry Stakes will be a victory that takes Loughnane to the top level. The victory over Rashabar was a courageous ride for the pace of a youngster who had not yet lost his first name. It was a remarkable story and he continued his opening day success with a 14-1 victory over Soprano in Friday’s Sandringham Stakes. On that occasion he came into a competitive handicap with a well-timed late rattle. A week that the young man will never forget.

TRAINER OF THE WEEK…

Boring, I know, but it has to be Aidan O’Brien. Tuesday didn’t quite go to plan, but things took off as Illinois won the coach’s fifth Queen’s Vase in a decade in record time. That was quickly followed by Auguste Rodin bravely winning the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes, while team Ballydoyle provided strong pace for the favorite to aim for and capitalize on last year’s Derby hero to get back on the winning streak to win.

More success came on Thursday with Port Fairy 12-1 odds on to win the Ribblesdale Stakes with another powerful performance from close to speed. She had improved considerably during her run at Chester and O’Brien had won the Group Two prize for the fourth time in nine years.

It was better to get into the Gold Cup with Kyprios. A horse that suffered a life-threatening injury, O’Brien’s skills were on full display here as he regained his permanent crown. Like all brilliant stayers, Kyprios holds back a bit, but he had more than enough in the tank to see off Trawlerman and win by a length. The word genius echoed around the Ascot winners’ appendix about O’Brien and it was impossible to argue with it.

On Friday, O’Brien was only missing a two-year-old winner. That seemed to continue when Fairy Godmother was blocked repeatedly during her run in the Albany Stakes. She had to go around the entire field and somehow mow them all in time to leave three-quarters of the length. It was an astonishing move to pull the victory out of the fire.

Bedtime Story was a crushing winner of the Chesham Stakes by nine and a half lengths yesterday and O’Brien already looks like he has a strong hand for next year’s 1,000 Guineas with her and Fairy Godmother. Royal Ascot is too competitive for any one individual to exert real dominance, but this was not far from the master of Ballydoyle.

Oisin Murphy gave Running Lion an inspired forward drive to land the Duke of Cambridge

RIDE OF THE WEEK…

Lots of contenders, but there was a lot to like about the ride

Murphy gave Running Lion in the Duke of Cambridge Stakes. A idiosyncratic customer who can do that

consider the game, Running Lion isn’t the easiest to warm up to either and was repeatedly disappointed in smaller races at lower prizes. Pulled wide, Murphy kept her away from the rest of the field before coming across to let her lead the way. He promptly gave her an aggressive ride and she never saw a rival.

If an opponent were to keep an eye on her, many would suspect she might have thrown in the towel again. On a big day and with Group Two on the line, that option was not on the table as she responded well to strong tactics to earn an emphatic victory.

Questions about the temperament of the John and Thady Gosden-trained filly can be put aside for the time being, but there is no doubt that we have seen her in a different light due to an excellent leading ride from Murphy on the daughter of Roaring Lion.

Wild Tiger wins the Royal Hunt Cup Handicap in a thrilling finish ahead of the all-blue Godolphin

RACE OF THE WEEK…

THIS is all down to personal preference, but there is always an element of satisfaction when a horse you’ve long coveted wins a competitive Royal Ascot handicap. Wild Tiger had all the hallmarks of a handicap group horse when he found himself an 11-2 favorite for the Royal Hunt Cup.

Trainer Saeed Bin Suroor repeatedly aims for this prize and won it a few years ago with top miler Real World. He hit the target again when he hung on grimly in the final furlong and gained the upper hand with a short header.

He raced without cover all the time, but always traveled like the class act. The challengers all loomed within the last 100 meters, but Murphy and Wild Tiger were able to fend them all off. It delivered all the classic racing sensations, luckily with a happy ending!