Frankie Dettori's luckless day continued when he suffered a shock defeat on the Queen's horse Reach For The Moon.
The hotly-tipped favourite was a short price for the Hampton Court Stakes, but he was outdone by Claymore (7-1). Ridden by Adam Kirby, the winner led and was around a length ahead as he entered the final straight.
Dettori never looked totally happy with Reach For The Moon and as he brought his mount to challenge, the crowd sensed they were not about to witness a royal win.
Carrying the famous colours, which feature a purple jacket and gold braid, the 2-5 favourite joined Claymore but could not go by. In the end he drew away to win by three lengths.
Afterwards, Kirby told ITV: "It's quite sad for the Queen but this horse [Claymore], he's always been a proper horse. He's proved that."
Dettori's shock defeat on the Queen's favourite brought a disappointing day to an end for the sportsman.
On a hot day at the Berkshire track, where temperatures peaked at around 27C, his big race mount Stradivarius could only finish third in the Gold Cup.
Dettori led the veteran stayer, one of his favourite horses, part of the way to the start.
As they kept their cool beforehand, their backers were getting a little flustered when the jockey, like in the 2021 renewal, found his path blocked.
Stradivarius got out and was brought wide inside the final furlong, but he could not peg back his younger rival Kyprios (6-4f), the mount of Ryan Moore.
In the very next race, Dettori just missed out when Saga stormed home in the Britannia Stakes, another horse owned by the Queen.
But the post came in time for Thesis, who returned at odds of 14-1.
Reflecting on Reach For The Moon's second place, Dettori said his horse underperformed on the big occasion.
“I said to John (Gosden, trainer) that I wasn’t very happy at the three (furlong pole), then I got serious at the two and I managed to get my head in front – and then the last furlong I didn’t finish.
“It could be numerous different things – the ground, the trip – I don’t know. But he didn’t run his race."
