Ebor Festival: Ethical Diamond sparkles with Ebor triumph

Although better known for his exploits under National Hunt rules, the Closutton handler had previously landed Britain’s richest Flat handicap with Sesenta in 2009 and Absurde in 2023 and fired a three-pronged assault at this year’s renewal.

Ethical Diamond, who was last seen striking Royal Ascot gold in the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes, was a well backed 5-1 favourite for the £500,000 feature under William Buick, who appeared keen to play his cards as late as possible aboard a horse who has been known to race enthusiastically.

But after again travelling powerfully in the middle of the pack as the field turned for home, the five-year-old got a dream run against the stands’ rail when being delivered with his challenge and picked up well to run out an emphatic two-and-a-half-length winner over Ascending, with Queenstown in third.

Mullins said: “William said he was a copybook ride. He popped off, settled and did everything he wanted him to do.

“He said once he let him go, he quickened up well.

“He won’t go to (the) Melbourne (Cup) as he won’t pass the vets down there in Australia, so we wiped that off straight away. He’s got a screw in his leg from an old injury and that is a straight no-no from them.

“That’s fine, those are the rules and at least we know now and not when they let us get all the way down there.

“I don’t know if he’s an Irish Cesarewitch horse or we let him run in an Irish Leger, we’ll have to see but I’d definitely like to move him up in grade to a Group Two or a Group Three at some stage.”

He went on: “We’ve just been trying to find the right tactics that suit him but it’s taken me 18 months to do that and now he’s won at Royal Ascot and the Ebor.

“Now that we have a way to ride him, he’d probably win a nice race over hurdles, I think tactics have been the making of him.”

Never So Brave successfully graduated to the highest level in a pulsating renewal of the Sky Bet City of York Stakes, with hot favourite Rosallion only fourth.

Never So Brave joined Andrew Balding following Sir Michael Stoute’s retirement and since finishing a close second on his stable debut at Chester, the four-year-old had dominated the Buckingham Palace at Royal Ascot in June before following up in the Group Two Summer Mile at the Berkshire track last month.

He was 7-2 to complete his hat-trick in a race carrying Group One status for the first time, with Richard Hannon’s Rosallion an even-money shot after being beaten a nose and neck in the Queen Anne and Sussex Stakes respectively.

With Quinault setting a strong gallop from the off, the two market principals were given time to find their feet before being delivered and it was Never So Brave who hit the front under Oisin Murphy heading inside the final furlong.

Rosallion did his best to reel him in, with Maranoa Charlie and and Lake Forest also arriving late on the scene to set up a grandstand finish, but Never So Brave clung on to beat the latter by half a length, with Maranoa Charlie and Rosallion close up behind in third and fourth.

North Yorkshire’s Tim Easterby trained Winter Power to win the 2021 Nunthorpe for King Power Racing and in her sister Revival Power (13-2), he has another speedy filly on his hands for the same connections.

She battled back gamely to see off Military Code to win the Julia Graves Roses Stakes by a head.

“She’s a big filly who is weak and she can only get better,” said Easterby. “It’s a long shot she’ll be as good as her sister, but not many are. She’s won a Listed race so we’ll see what we do, something like the Cornwallis might be a race to look at.”

Andrew Balding claimed his third Sky Bet Melrose Handicap in the last six years as Tarriance touched off Many Men in a barnstorming finish.