Highland Reel delivered for a sixth time at the highest level in this year’s renewal of the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes, on the second day of Royal Ascot.
The consistent son of Galileo broke well under Ryan Moore and settled to track Godolphin’s Scottish who took the field along.
Race favourite Jack Hobbs, who was last seen winning the Dubai Sheema Classic, was held up towards the rear with the filly Queen’s Trust trailing her rivals.
Swinging into the home straight, Highland Reel loomed up to the leader under pressure but faced challengers to his outside in the shape of Decorated Knight and Ulysees.
The latter hit the front a furlong out, but Ballydoyle’s main hope got rolling and shot to the front inside the final half-furlong. He won going away at the line by just under two lengths.
“He is a very tough horse and a very high-class horse as well. He’s a King George winner, a Breeders’ Cup winner, a Hong Kong Vase winner, a Secretariat winner,” reflected Moore.
“He likes a battle but when he won the Breeders’ Cup Turf he was a long way ahead of them. He is a durable horse.”
A third win in the race for the Ballydoyle maestro, Highland Reel backs up his win in the Coronation Cup achieved less than three weeks ago at Epsom.
This victory sees his career earnings rocket to over £5.9 million.
O’Brien said: ” Highland Reel is an incredible horse, he has pace, courage, tactical speed – he has everything.
“He has been racing at the top level for the last few years and he is just amazing.
“We always thought the world of him because he has always been a natural, brilliant athlete. Sometimes he gets beat, but if the pace is strong and if it comes anywhere near courage he will be there fighting. He has a huge amount of tactical speed.”
Earlier in the afternoon, the Clive Cox-trained Heartache marched away with the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes over five furlongs.
He likes a battle
A once-raced winner of a Bath maiden, the daughter of Kyllachy tracked American challenger Happy Like A Fool in the early stages and once asked inside the final two furlongs quickened clear to score by two and a half lengths.
Last year’s Coronation Stakes-winner, Qemah, was once again in the winners’ enclosure at Royal Ascot after proving too classy in the Group 2 Duke Of Cambridge Stakes.
Held up under Gregory Benoist, the four-year-old filly came with a strong challenge inside the final furlong to go by long-time leader Smart Call and she kept on well on the run to the line to beat outsider Aljazzi by just under a length.