One final day of Royal Ascot. Bouncing between Royal Ascot and the World Cup all week, while balancing a tray of jobs and tasks at the same time. No dishes on the floor. Yet.
Royal Ascot offers theatre every day. Whether it’s John and Tanya Gunther and their undefeated Without Parole or Frankie Dettori earning his 60th win at Royal Ascot or Sir Michael Stoute eclipsing Sir Henry Cecil’s all-time win record or Eve Johnson-Houghton winning the opening Group 1 stakes with a homebred or Wesley Ward winning his 10th race at Royal Ascot or the Jessica Harrington earning her first win at Royal Ascot with the sheer brilliance of Alpha Centauri or the simple elegance of The Queen each day. It’s all there. And more to come.
A few quotes from the week…
Harrington: “First, I am relieved; I definitely was very nervous today as I know she is a great filly. It was rather nice going into the Irish 1,000 Guineas as we were very much under the radar, she hadn’t run well on soft ground two runs before that – today we were there to be shot at.”
Johnson-Houghton: “Unbelievable, I still can’t believe it, I haven’t slept for two nights and I dreamt that he would be third. I thought I was tilting at windmills. He loves Ascot and had a chance.”
Detorri: “The Gold Cup is the highlight of the week, and to win it again is amazing, especially as it’s my first one for John Gosden and his team. To have had the three best horses in the final furlong battling it out, you couldn’t ask for more than that, full credit to my horse, he was as brave as a lion.”
Stoute: “Henry’s record was formidable because he accumulated his numbers when there were four days of Royal Ascot. We are very glad it has happened and it is a great reflection on my staff. I love the game and we have great staff and very supportive owners, so I’d like to keep going for a little while longer!”
