Desert Hero gave King Charles his first winner at Royal Ascot with victory in the King George V Stakes, on the day Frankie Dettori claimed his ninth Gold Cup victory.
Desert Hero (18-1), ridden by Tom Marquand, finished strong to beat Valiant King and Bertinelli.
Marquand said it was “one of his proudest moments in the saddle”.
In the Gold Cup, Dettori rode a 15-2 shot courage my friend to victory at the jockey’s last Royal Ascot meeting.
The 52-year-old Italian, who retires later this year, had to battle hard in the closing stages of the race with 11-4 favorite Coltrane on the inside but prevailed to take another feature race victory, first he won. aboard Drum Taps in 1992.
Courage Mon Ami is a four-year-old son of the legendary racehorse Frankel and has won his last three races for trainers John and Thady Gosden.
Dettori collected the famous trophy from King Charles and Queen Camilla, and even planted a podium kiss on the Queen’s cheek.
“Unbelievable. I thought it was a bridge too far. But I had a perfect race,” said Dettori.
“I thought Coltrane would come back. In fairness [Courage Mon Ami] very young [it was a great run].”
Dettori, who admitted to the Queen’s Vase aboard Gregory on Wednesday, then did his trademark flying dismount to the delight of the Ascot crowd.
In the past, Brave Strength took a stunning 150-1 victory in the Norfolk Stakes to become the joint biggest-priced winner at Royal Ascot with 2020 Coventry Stakes winner Nando Parrado.
Elite Status was the favorite but finished in third place, while 66-1 Malc returned to second.
The king’s horse gives a ‘dream’ victory
Desert Hero, trained by William Haggas, had to hold off a spirited charge from second-placed Valiant King in the final furlong but pulled away by a head to take what Marquand called “a dream” victory in royal silks.
King Charles took the prize with Queen Camilla, who were both delighted with the result of the royal box.
Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September, was a regular visitor to the winner’s enclosure during her reign and her granddaughter, Zara Tindall, told ITV Racing that the achievement was bittersweet for the family.
“Think how proud our grandmother, the Queen, must be,” he said. “To have a winner for Charles and Camilla and keep that dream alive is amazing. It’s a new thrill.
“Like all the owners who come here and have a horse here with that dream, that hope and then to have it come true is unbelievable.”
Rossa Ryan led two-year-old Valiant Force, trained by Adrian Murray, to a length and a quarter victory in the Norfolk Stakes to give Kia Joorabchian’s Amo Racing their first victory at the meeting.
Noted challenger American Rascal from the United States could only manage 13th place with jockey Joel Rosario.
“To be fair to the lads, they’re confident he’ll run a big race,” Murray said.
“If you take his last run at the Curragh, when he was on his own, he ran up a storm for the first time in a Listed race, that’s what they think of him.
“He was born well, he was raised to be a sprinter, and he looks different.”
