Royal Ascot 2015: Four fantastic finishes

2011 Prince of Wales’s Stakes – Rewilding

Dual Cox Plate winner So You Think was a much-vaunted recruit for the Aidan O’Brien yard in a rare move from Australian trainer Bart Cummings at the beginning of the 2011 season, and he made his first start on British soil in the Prince of Wales’s at Royal Ascot in 2011 after two facile victories at Group level at the Curragh. Sent off the 4/11 favourite, So You Think was still travelling powerfully three furlongs from home as pacemaker Jan Vermeer gave way, he quickened clear as expected, only to be worn down late on by Frankie Dettori (who later received a nine-day whip ban) on Rewilding, who relished the test of stamina the strong pace provided and got up to win by a neck. Sadly, there would be no rematch as Rewilding was fatally injured in the King George on his next start, but on the basis of his Prince of Wales’s win he still rates as one of Godolphin’s best horses with a Timeform rating of 132.

2012 Diamond Jubilee Stakes – Black Caviar

In all of her record-breaking 25 successive victories this was as close to defeat as Black Caviar came in her whole career and it made for one of the most dramatic Royal Ascot finishes of recent times, as jockey Luke Nolan eased off with 50 yards to go as the French-trained pair of Moonlight Cloud and Restiadargent closed in. It was later revealed that Black Caviar had injured muscles in her hindquarters during the race and it is testament to her ability that she was still able to score at the highest level on foreign soil. Black Caviar went on to win another three Group 1s in her native Australia before being retired to stud the following season.

2013 Gold Cup – Estimate

Although arguably not the highest quality running of the highlight of the British stayer’s calendar the 2013 renewal of Ascot’s Gold Cup will live long in the memory as the Queen’s horse Estimate got up in a close finish to beat the Willie Mullins-trained Simenon by a neck. Estimate provided the Queen with her first victory at the Royal meeting for four years when she won the Queen’s Vase in 2012 and landed a gamble to secure successive Royal Ascot victories one year on. The pace was a muddling one for the feature of Ladies Day and it took an intelligent ride from Ryan Moore to get Estimate into prime position turning for home and with the extra four-furlong trip proving no problem she was able to hold off the late surge of Simenon in the final 50 yards. Estimate was retired to stud after the 2013 season, with this race her sole Group 1 success.

2013 St. James’s Palace Stakes – Dawn Approach

Just three weeks after pulling away his chance early on in the Derby, Dawn Approach was returned to a mile and his running battle with Toronado in the St James’s Palace. This meeting, the middle of three big Group 1 battles, was undoubtedly the most dramatic. Dawn Approach looked to have lost it when he met trouble in-running two furlongs out, but he was able to grind past Toronado (who was bouncing back from a disappointing fourth in the Guineas) late on. Toronado had to come from further back than the narrow winner and duly got his revenge in round three when the pair met again in the Sussex at Glorious Goodwood. Dawn Approach would never win again, but his 2000 Guineas- St James’s Palace double is a rarer feat than you might expect, with only Frankel, Henrythenavigator and Rock of Gibraltar also managing to complete the double this century.