Stradivarius wins Gold Cup as Dettori records 60th winner at Royal Ascot

Frankie Dettori rode his 60th Royal Ascot winner as Stradivarius won the Gold Cup on day three at Royal Ascot.

In a race that lived up to its billing, the John Gosden-trained horse outfought French raider Vazirabad, long-time leader Torcedor and joint-favourite Order Of St George in an epic finish on Ladies' Day at the Berkshire course. Stradivarius travelled through the race beautifully for Dettori and entered the straight moving sweetly, with just Torcedor and Order Of St George, who won this in 2016 and finished second to Big Orange last year, ahead of him.

Dettori asked his mount and joint-favourite to go and win the race inside the final two furlongs, a task he accepted with enthusiasm and to approving roars from the grandstand, but as he battled by the front pair along came the grey Vazirabad with a powerful run. The rivals came close for several tense yards, but it was the French gelding who blinked first and Stradivarius raced on to a three-quarter-length victory, going away at the line.

Dettori, who missed the winning ride on Big Orange last year because of an arm injury, said: "Ryan [Moore, on Order Of St George] was in trouble four out but I thought that could be deceiving because if I attack him now he might battle me out of it, so I waited until the straight, and I waited past the two, and then I thought 'now I can get him'.

"He managed to get within a neck but he couldn't get past me. I knew my horse was brave and that was it – I knew I'd won the Gold Cup. "It was thrilling to win a Gold Cup in that manner. That's what the public wanted to see and that's what they got. Sometimes it looks like a great match on paper but this was a nailbiter to the end.

"It was brilliant. The crowd got behind it. I was loving it. To have the three best horses in the last furlong battling it out, you can't beat it. Full credit to the horse, he was as brave as a lion, and to John – his first Gold Cup."

It was Gosden's first Gold Cup, but a sixth for Dettori, to go with his 60th Royal Ascot winner. But as he clarified: "It is my sixth and my 60th – but I'm only 47, don't mix it up!"

Next up for Stradivarius will be the Qatar Goodwood Cup and one step closer to a potential £1 million bonus awarded to any horse who can win four of the season's top staying races. Stradivarius began by winning the Yorkshire Cup, has now added the Gold Cup and will claim the bonus if he wins at Goodwood and then follows up in the Weatherbys Hamilton Lonsdale Cup at York’s Ebor meeting.

Jockey Ryan Moore may have been out of luck in the Gold Cup but he partnered a landmark 50th winner at the Royal meeting when Hunting Horn took out the Group 3 Hampton Court Stakes in terrific style from Crossed Baton.

It was only a decade ago that Moore enjoyed his first Royal Ascot success on Colony for Sir Michael Stoute in the King George V Handicap and he has never had a blank year since. Hunting Horn continued that record coming in a decent four and a half lengths clear of Crossed Baton, with Zaaki a further half a length back.

Moore has been top jockey at the meeting for seven of the last eight years, and although Dettori is likely to deny him an eighth Qipco top jockey trophy, Moore wasted no time in moving straight on to winner number 51 with success in the Ribblesdale Stakes. This time it was on Magic Wand who completed a quick-fire double for the jockey and trainer Aiden O’Brien, coming in a similar four lengths clear of Wild Illusion in second and Sun Maiden in third.

Wesley Ward was back in the Royal Ascot winner's enclosure to celebrate a tenth Royal Ascot success after Shang Shang Shang, the only filly in the race, made all the running in the day-three opener, the Norfolk Stakes. Bursting out of the gates under Joel Rosario, the winner hung on to maintain her unbeaten record from the fast-finishing Pocket Dynamo under Mickael Barzalona by a nose. Land Force finished a close up third, with the front three clear of their rivals.

Trainer Simon Crisford enjoyed a first Royal Ascot success as Ostilio won the penultimate race of the day, the Britannia Stakes. Run over a distance of a mile, jockey Silvestre de Sousa brought Ostilio across to the stands' rail from stall 15 in a large field of 30 runners and set a pace that saw him race five lengths clear of his group. The pack came back into contention and but Ostilio defied all expectations and held on well to win by a just over a length.

Jockey Andrea Atzeni and trainer Mark Johnston combined to take out the last race of the day, the King George V Stakes, with Baghdad. It was a close run affair with the mile and a half contest going right down to the wire but Atzeni saw Baghdad home by a neck’s margin, winning from Corgi in second and First Eleven in third.

Friday’s penultimate day of Royal Ascot for 2018 is headlined by the Commonwealth Cup, at 3.40pm.