This was Frankie Dettori’s ninth Gold Cup victory
Desert Hero delivered 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 triumph.
Desert Hero (18-1), ridden by Tom Marquand, finished strongly to beat Valiant King and Bertinelli.
Marquand told ITV Racing it was one of his “proudest moments in the saddle”.
In the Gold Cup, Dettori rode 15-2 Courage Mon Ami to victory in his final appearance at Royal Ascot.
The 52-year-old Italian, who retires later this year, had to battle hard in the closing stages of the race with 11-4 favourite Coltrane on the inside but prevailed to secure yet another triumph in the feature race of Royal Ascot, which he first won aboard Drum Taps in 1992.
Courage Mon Ami is the four-year-old son of legendary racehorse Frankel and had 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 the perfect race,” said Dettori.
“I thought Coltrane was gong to come back. In fairness [Courage Mon Ami] is still a baby so [it was a great run].”
Dettori then performed his trademark leap from the horse to the delight of the Ascot crowd.
Earlier, Valiant Force took a shock 150-1 victory in the Norfolk Stakes to become the joint biggest-priced winner at Royal Ascot.
Elite Status was the favourite but finished in third place, while 66-1 Malc came home in second.
King’s horse delivers ‘dream’ victory
Image source, Getty Images
Desert Hero was the King’s fourth runner at Royal Ascot this week
Desert Hero, trained by William Haggas, had to hold off a spirited attack from second-placed Valiant King in the final furlong but stuck his head out to secure what Marquand called “a dream” win in the royal silks.
King Charles picked up the prize with Queen Camilla, who both looked elated with the result in 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 the success for the family was bittersweet.
“Think how proud our grandmother, the Queen, would’ve been,” she said. “To have a winner for Charles and Camilla and keep that dream alive was incredible. It’s a new excitement.
“Like all those owners that come here and have a horse here having that dream, that hope and then fulfilling it is incredible.”
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 maiden win at the meeting.
Highly touted challenger American Rascal from the United States could only manage 13th place with jockey Joel Rosario.
Speaking to ITV Racing, Murray said: “To be fair to the lads, they were confident he would run a big race.
“If you took away his last run at the Curragh, when he was on his own, he ran a stormer first time up in a Listed race, that’s how much they thought of him.
“He’s bred well, he’s bred to be a sprinter, and he’s something else to look at.”