On the day King Charles III had his first Royal Ascot winner, the 'king of Ascot' Frankie Dettori starred with a final fairytale victory in the Ascot Gold Cup on Courage Mon Ami (15-2).
The popular Italian jockey is retiring from the saddle at the end of the year and fittingly grabbed victory in the Group One feature of the five-day extravaganza at Ascot – a place where he has had so many of his greatest triumphs. While his famous Magnificent Seven – when Dettori won all seven races on the card at Ascot – wasn't at the Royal meeting, his exploits at the Berkshire track are so legendary that he has a statue of his famous flying dismount near the entrance to the course. He so wanted to have success in his final Royal Ascot – and having get the monkey off his back on his 13th ride of this year's meeting with the John and Thady Gosden-trained Gregory's win in the Queen's Vase yesterday – he grabbed Golden glory on a sun-drenched afternoon.
Partnering the Gosdens' Courage Mon Ami – who was only having his fourth career start – Dettori was at his magnificent best. The four-year-old gelded son of Frankel, who has won his first three starts, most recently in a handicap at Goodwood, was always well placed settled in rear off the pace set by Charlie Johnston's Subjectivist (9-2) – who was only having his third start since winning the Gold Cup two years ago. But Dettori played the waiting game on the inside rail. But when he asked Courage Mon Ami to move through the field he challenged 11-4 favourite Coltrane, under Oisin Murphy, up front. But it was Dettori and Courage Mon Ami who had the best finishing kick and they scored by three-quarters-of-a-length form Coltrane with Subjectivist staying on for a brave third three-and-three-quarters-of-a-length back. Aidan O'Brien's Emily Dickinson (11-1), under Ryan Moore, was a further head adrift in fourth.
