Estimate wins gold for Queen in Ascot triumph

Her Majesty is the first reigning monarch to own the winner of this blue riband race in its 207-year history while Estimate was the first filly to prevail since Indian Queen in 1991.

At the end of a gruelling two-and-a-half miles, the Queen’s filly found extraordinary reserves of stamina under her jockey Ryan Moore to beat the Willie Mullins-trained Simenon by a neck.

As patriotic crowds raced to the winner’s enclosure to gain a vantage point, the Queen waited in the Royal box to salute Moore as he paraded Estimate past the grandstands at the culmination of an afternoon of high emotion – Riposte had earlier prevailed for the stable of the late Sir Henry Cecil.

To huge acclaim, Her Majesty then posed for photographs with Estimate before receiving the Gold Cup, which she traditionally presents, from the Duke of York.

There was also the bonus of a cheque for £155,000, the owner’s first prize, as the Queen celebrated the most momentous victory of her racing career since Dunfermline landed the Epsom Oaks and St Leger in 1977 – Silver Jubilee year.

The well-backed Estimate, the 7-2 favourite, had come to prominence a year ago when winning the Queen’s Vase, but even the horse’s trainer Sir Michael Stoute doubted whether this fabulous filly, still improving at the age of six, could take on the toughest – and most battle-hardened colts – in this war of attrition.

“This rates as highly as anything, and I know the pleasure it will have given the Queen because she has such a love for her breeding programme, and that’s why it will have been a bigger thrill to win with a filly, rather than a colt,” said an emotional Stoute, one of Flat racing’s most successful trainers and who has been battling ill health.

“Great teamwork went behind this filly, because sometimes she can be a pain in the backside. The girl who rides her every day, Michelle, and Kerry the head lass and Kirstie who led her up have put a lot of hard work in to get her relaxed.

“I always felt it was a massive task because she had to up her game from the Sagaro Stakes (which she won at Ascot on May 1) but her preparation had gone extremely well. She likes this place – they’ll have to frame more races for her here.”

Stoute, whose only previous success in the race came courtesy of Shangamuzo in 1978, added: “Things have gone very smoothly – as a trainer you walk the box when horses have had a setback and get behind schedule, and there are doubts about whether they can run. Trip wise there had to be doubts, but the distaff side of her pedigree screams extreme stamina and her half-brother Enzeli won the Gold Cup in 1999.

“She’s full of guts, very courageous and she relaxes so well in races which makes her a good staying filly. She’ll have a rest now because she’s had a very hard race. We’ve given her time between races in the past and looked after her, and now she’s looking after us – I could make a case for her getting better.

“This win is very high on my list, because it’s been done for a lady who, never mind being the Queen, loves racing, is a great supporter of racing and is so good for British racing.”

Estimate’s dam Ebaziya had ironically been an 80th birthday present to the Queen, a keen racehorse breeder, from the Aga Khan who remains synonymous with the ill-fated Shergar’s success in the 1981 Epsom Derby.

In the perfect position throughout, Moore tracked last year’s winner Colour Vision, ridden by Silvestre de Sousa, into the straight before striking for home on Estimate.

Simenon, twice a winner at last year’s fixture, looked to be coming with a race-winning run under Johnny Murtagh but could never quite draw level with Estimate, while Mikael Barzalona’s mount Top Trip tried to force his way between them as the main pretenders joined battle.

Showing incredible guts and determination, Estimate won by a neck from Simenon and Top Trip, with Colour Vision a close fourth, to provide the Queen with her 22nd winner at Royal Ascot and 60 years after her first success with Choir Boy in Coronation year.

The ferocity of the final battle is illustrated by the fact that the first four jockeys home all received suspensions for various indiscretions.

“We’ve always had this race in mind, she won well. She was holding them,” said Moore who picked up a two-day ban for careless riding. “It’s fantastic to ride a winner here for the Queen and in the Gold Cup, it’s very special.”

Estimate’s victory came 40 minutes after Royal Ascot was enveloped in tears and cheers when Riposte won an emotional Ribblesdale Stakes for the stable of the late Sir Henry Cecil who had trained a record 75 winners at this meeting before his death from cancer on Tuesday last week.

Riposte, a relative of Cecil’s horse of a lifetime Frankel, galloped clear to secure a poignant win for the record-breaking trainer’s widow Lady Jane who oversaw the horse’s final preparations.

“I don’t really have the words to say what I’m feeling right now. We hardly dared dream that we would have a winner,” she said.

“At the start of the week I thought this is one of the best teams we’ve had going into Ascot for a while and I just thought ‘God, he would be relishing this’.

“Keeping busy is what’s keeping us all going. If we had nothing to do, I think we’d all fall to bits.”

The rapidly improving Remote, a recent Doncaster winner, lived up to his tall reputation by showing a smart turn of foot to land the Tercentenary Stakes and give John Gosden and William Buick their first winner of the week.

“He’s only run three times before and he’s come to the meeting where it’s hardest to win races, whatever race you’re in. He’s done it really well,” said Buick, who suggested this is a Group One horse of the future.

“I was always confident he’d pick up, but he won really well from where he came from. He made it look very comfortable. He’ll progress even further.”

The day had begun when American sprinter No Nay Never won the Norfolk Stakes and became the fastest ever two-year-old over five furlongs in Royal Ascot history.

While the Queen’s Bold Sniper could only finish third to Mick Channon’s Elidor in the finale, this setback could not take the shine off a golden day.