Porta Fortuna shows her class with decisive Coronation Stakes triumph at Royal Ascot

Elmalka, Porta Fortuna and Ramatuelle, the first three home in the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket, turned out again in the Coronation Stakes, the highlight on the fourth day at Royal Ascot, but there was a different result this time as Porta Fortuna captured the Group 1 fillies’ contest under Tom Marquand.

With Opera Singer, one of last year’s leading two-year-olds, and French Guineas heroine Rouhiya also in the mix, it looked a top-class renewal – and it didn’t disappoint.

Ryan Moore set out to make it a good test on Opera Singer, trained by Aidan O’Brien, with Porta Fortuna, trained by O’Brien’s son Donnacha, close up in third as Skellet pushed up the rail under Rosa Ryan to share pace-setting duties.

Opera Singer was given the office turning for home but travelling much better in behind was Porta Fortuna as Rouhiya dropped back, while Elmalka and Ramatuelle tried to make headway from the rear of the field.

Porta Fortuna showed real tenacity to master Opera Singer well inside the final furlong, running on strongly to take the spoils by a length, with Ramatuelle a further length and a half away in third after a troubled passage, chased home by Elmalka.

The winner, owned by American syndicate Medallion Racing and partners Steve Weston, Dean Reeves and Barry Fowler, was following up her 2023 Royal Ascot strike in the Albany Stakes.

Phillip Shelton, Manager of Medallion Racing, said: “It’s just unbelievable. All the credit goes to Donnacha and his team. Porta Fortuna ran a ton as a two-year-old, showed up every time, and ran huge in the Guineas.

“She loves it here and we love it here – it is an unbelievable experience! I think she’s such a kind filly, she’ll just relax and you can do whatever you want, and when it’s time she just lays it down on the line for you, and that’s all you can ever ask. She is the best we’ve got. I wish I had a barnful of horses like her, but they’re hard to come by.”

Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum’s Inisherin, sixth behind Notable Speech in the 2,000 Guineas, looked to relish the drop back to six furlongs when running away with the Group 2 Sandy Lane Stakes at Haydock last month and that impression was confirmed when the son of Shamardal saw off all challengers in the Group 1 Commonwealth Cup.

Tom Eaves always looked to have matters in control on the Kevin Ryan-trained colt and he wasn’t hard-pressed to see off Lake Forest by two and a quarter lengths, confirming his status as the best sprinting three-year-old on these shores.

For Sheikh Obaid it was a second homebred top-level success this week following Rosallion’s strike in the St James’s Palace Stakes on Tuesday.

He said: “We expected Inisherin to win this because he’s a good horse! He didn’t run well in the Guineas because he needed a shorter trip. He is a sprinter by Shamardal. After the Guineas, when he was sixth, Kevin told me straight away that he would drop him to six.

“Inisherin had been working with sprinters and passing them standing still. I trust all my trainers; what they say I agree with them. I like racing and I want my horses [Inisherin and Rosallion] to run next year – the press and the TV like it too.

“Rosallion is a super horse – you haven’t seen the best of him yet. He needs a fast pace and then you will see what he can do. In the Guineas here and in Ireland, he only did a sprint for half a furlong or a furlong.”

The Aga Khan, successful in the Oaks at Epsom with Ezeliya, saw his famous silks carried to another high-profile triumph after the Francis-Henri Graffard-trained Calandagan positively bolted up in the Group 2 King Edward VII Stakes (1m4f) under Stephane Pasquier, defeating Space Legend by six lengths.

In the day’s opening contest, the Group 3 Albany Stakes (6f), Coolmore’s Fairy Godmother posted a most impressive performance. The two-year-old daughter of Night Of Thunder, trained by Aidan O’Brien, conceded first run to Simmering having been forced to switch around runners, but positively flew home under Ryan Moore to secure a cosy three-quarter length success.

Young riding sensation Billy Loughnane partnered his second winner of the week when guiding Highclere Thoroughbred Racing’s Soprano to victory in the Sandringham Stakes (1m) for the George Boughey stable.

The father-and-son team of Gerard and Colin Keane captured the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes (1m4f) with Crystal Black for owners Wear A Pink Ribbon Syndicate, who are raising money for the Irish Cancer Society, while the closing race, the Palace of Holyrood House Handicap, fell to the David and Nicola Barron-trained Pilgrim, owned by H D Atkinson and partnered by Joe Fanning.