Frankie Dettori blew the start and left himself with just a little too much ground to make up at the finish, but in every other respect he ran the big race he was hoping for at his final Royal Ascot. A ninth Gold Cup, on a 17-2 shot that would have been twice the price with anyone bar Dettori on board, was the obvious highlight but, once he had got a winner under his belt in the 13th of the 35 races, there was a sudden sense that Ryan Moore, who had a treble on Tuesday, was looking over his shoulder as his lead in the jockeys’ standings diminished by the day.
Moore got his lead back to two in the final race, the Queen Alexandra Stakes, and was, in numerical terms at least, clearly the rider of the week. Oisin Murphy, meanwhile, arguably deserves the accolade of ride of the week for getting Shaquille over the line in the Commonwealth Cup after losing five lengths at the start, although Jamie Spencer’s inimitable hold‑up ride on the quirky Khaadem in the feature race on Saturday is also in the conversation.
