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Royal Ascot round-up: True Love breaks Aidan O'Brien's Queen Mary duck

Updated / Wednesday, 18 Jun 2025 18:42
True Love wins the opening race in sun-drenched Berkshire
True Love wins the opening race in sun-drenched Berkshire

True Love shed her maiden tag in style with victory in the Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Trained by Aidan O'Brien and ridden by Ryan Moore, True Love had chased home Tuesday’s Coventry Stakes winner and stablemate Gstaad on her latest start and was duly sent off the 9-4 favourite.

True Love took some time to work her way into the race as Zelaina set a scorching early pace, but she stayed on to real effect in the final furlong to beat 100-1 shot Flowerhead, with Patrick Biancone’s American raider Lennilu third.

It was win number 93 for O’Brien at the big meeting, although rather surprisingly his first in the Queen Mary.

He said: "She’s lovely and in her first run Ryan came in and said they won’t beat her again and then after her second run Wayne (Lordan) said the same thing, that they won’t beat her again, and then you have to consider the two that beat her (Lady Iman and Gstaad) are very good horses.

"Ryan gave her a beautiful ride and Michael (Tabor) has always loved her and always spoken about her. It’s great as her mother (Alluringly) is in foal to City Of Troy and her sister is in foal to Wootton Bassett so it’s marvellous really.

"She was drawn by herself and there was no pace where she was so she had to go and do her own work and that’s what Ryan did, he was excellent on her. She was probably strongest in the last half-furlong and when she got going she really powered away.

"Ryan said he was a little slow to step and a little on the back foot all the time and I think that’s why he was trying to stoke her up a bit, but late on she was really strong.

"She had to work really hard and the only place she was going to get company was out in the middle and Ryan did really well to let her go there. She was under the pump a long way out, but so strong at the line and is obviously high class.

"She’s like a four-year-old really and Ryan thought he would be better when she steps up to six furlongs and she’s a big, mature filly who walks like the ring like a four-year-old, she’s so scopey – she’s something to look forward to."

On future plans, O’Brien added: "I think we look forward to going up in trip now, the lads will decide that. You would imagine she would have no problem going six furlongs, but she is No Nay Never and he’s a big speed influence always.

"The Queen Mary winner seems to always head to Deauville (Prix Morny) or the Curragh (Airlie Stud Stakes) and that would be the two races really or there is the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes at Newmarket in July. That may come too soon, but we will see how she is."

Carmers maintained his unbeaten record with a determined display in the Queen's Vase.

A first runner at the Royal fixture for trainer Paddy Twomey, the Wootton Bassett colt had been successful on his two previous starts at Ballinrobe and Navan and was a 9-2 shot to complete his hat-trick in this one-mile-six-furlong Group Two.

Always to the fore in the hands of Billy Lee, Carmers took over from Shackleton rounding the home turn and answered his rider’s every call to repel the staying-on pair of Furthur and Rahiebb, with three-quarters of a length the winning margin.

"I knew he'd stay and I knew turning in that Billy looked comfortable," said Twomey.

"I was happy to see a horse come up alongside him and help him at the front, he looked comfortable when the bell rang and I knew he had a chance.

"I think staying is his game and I think he’s a pretty good horse."

Ladbrokes installed the Fiona Carmichael-owned winner as the 8-1 second-favourite for the Betfred St Leger, and Twomey added: "He’s done everything we’ve asked, he’s obviously going to have an entry in the Leger at Doncaster – we’ll see.

"He’s done what was asked of him today, he’s run three times, he’s won three times and hopefully he continues to win.

"We’ve nice horses, we’ve good owners and it’s fantastic to be able to bring them here.

"It’s nice to have good horses to win on the big days for a small stable."

Crimson Advocate swooped with some style in the final furlong to secure a second Royal Ascot success, this time in the Duke of Cambridge Stakes.

Winner of the Queen Mary Stakes two years ago when trained by American George Weaver, Crimson Advocate is now with John and Thady Gosden in the colours of Wathnan Racing and came from last to first in the hands of James McDonald.

Fellow Gosden runner and defending champion Running Lion made a bold bid to make all but had no answer as 13-2 chance Crimson Advocate collared her inside the final furlong and pulled clear of 5-4 favourite Cinderella's Dream.

John Gosden said: "We knew she would run a big race but I didn’t expect her to go by those three fillies. Let’s face it, Running Lion won it last year and the second and third are Group One fillies.

"I said to James to just get her settled and he did a beautiful job, he has really great hands and even though he hadn’t ridden her before got a wonderful tune out of her.

"At the half-furlong marker I thought Running Lion had it and so did the commentator and then this filly came along with a wet sail – it was impressive for a filly who was a Queen Mary filly not so long ago.

"We gave her a long time off over the winter and worked on settling her and she ran really well in the Snowdrop and then Robert Havlin settled her at Goodwood and she got up and won.

"Full marks to Robert and Thady who have devoted their time to settling her and she’s sat last here and then blown them away. I’m thrilled but this one is not much to do with me."

My Cloud scooted up the stands side rail to justify favouritism in the Royal Hunt Cup.

Roger Varian's charge was sent off the 3-1 market leader for one of the betting highlights of the week and was ridden with plenty of confidence by Silvestre de Sousa.

The 30-strong field split into three groups and while My Cloud was clearly in front on his side of the track, Bullet Point was running him close on the other side, with the favourite edging in front of the 11-1 second by three-quarters of a length, with Bopedro taking third at 50-1.

My Cloud had won over the course and distance on his penultimate start and Varian said: "The horse likes it here and we all do, we all enjoy winners at this meeting.

"Patience has been key and he had a few niggles as a young horse. We couldn't get as busy as we would have liked on the racecourse aged two and three and he only really got going late last year.

"He’s done well this year which is a great team effort at home. There’s a lot of people to thank but mainly his owner who has been the most patient of everyone.

"I was at pains to tell Silvestre not to be in a rush with him, as races on the straight mile can develop late, and this is a horse with a lot of class who moved through the race well.

"We will have to hope he keeps improving and progressing and that was a mighty performance for an inexperienced horse. We hope he could progress out of handicaps one day, but there won’t be a rush to do so.

"He’s had three races now so I think we will regroup, enjoy today and then work out a plan."

Miss Information claimed top honours in the Kensington Palace Stakes.

At the business end of proceedings it was Andrew Balding’s 11-1 shot Miss Information and the Gavin Cromwell-trained Snellen who came to the fore, with the former coming out on top by a length in the hands of Oisin Murphy.

Balding said: "She’s been a star, this filly. She had no luck last time at Epsom, she got shuffled back and just didn’t seem to enjoy herself.

"Fast ground is what she wants, she just about got the mile.

"It’s so nice for her owner, they really get a lot of enjoyment out of it and I’m so pleased for them.

"She’s in the Bunbury Cup, we will try to get some black type at some stage and she’ll make a lovely broodmare."

The Windsor Castle Stakes brought day two of the meeting to a close and for the second time the Listed prize went to Eve Johnson Houghton, this time with 7-1 shot Havana Hurricane.

The Oxfordshire-based trainer saddled Chipotle to strike gold 2021 and her latest contender was prominent in the market after supplementing a successful debut at Goodwood with a runner-up finish behind Maximized in the Woodcote at Epsom less than a fortnight ago.

Ridden by Charles Bishop, the Havana Gold colt quickened up smartly to grab the lead inside the final furlong and was well on top at the line, with Dickensian best of the rest in second.

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