Royal Ascot: Estimate win brings some Royal cheer

Published on 23/06/2012 01:30

ESTIMATE provided a Royal Ascot winner for the Queen in her Diamond Jubilee year as she landed the Queen’s Vase under Ryan Moore.

The Sir Michael Stoute-trained filly was the 3-1 favourite following victory in a Salisbury maiden and she responded generously to her rider’s urgings in the straight finishing off the two miles strongly to beat Athens by five lengths, with Ed De Gas third.

William Buick then correctly chose to keep his faith in Fallen For You in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot.

John Gosden was taking something of a gamble when he replaced jockey Jimmy Fortune with a 21-year-old former joint-champion apprentice but the pair are safely into their third season together.

Sandwiched between two other victories for the Gosden-Buick axis in the Albany Stakes and Wolferton Handicap, Fallen For You led home a Clarehaven Stable one-two finishing ahead of Starscope.

Gosden declared three runners in this 1000 Guineas rerun and with Fortune offered the mount on Starscope, Buick picked the lower-rated Fallen For You over Elusive Kate, who was withdrawn in the morning. Gosden and Buick, who teamed up to record a 142-1 treble were successful with Fallen For You (12-1) in the feature Coronation Stakes and they also struck with Newfangled and Gatewood.

Newfangled was installed as favourite for the Qipco 1000 Guineas following an impressive performance in the Albany Stakes. Starting as the 7-4 favourite, she was quickly into her stride and soon well clear with Gatewood getting up in the closing stages to complete a hat-trick in the Wolferton Handicap.

The 3-1 favourite came with a great run to deny Black Spirit and Mijhaar by a neck and a head respectively.

Sir Henry Cecil, Royal Ascot’s most successful trainer, followed up Frankel’s majestic victory on day one when taking his tally at the meeting to 75 with Thomas Chippendale.

The three-year-old colt provided the Newmarket trainer with his eighth King Edward VII Stakes and he also took second place with Frankel’s half-brother Noble Mission.

Fellow Newmarket trainer Roger Varian later notched his first Royal Ascot winner when Eton Forever defied a big weight in the Buckingham Palace Stakes.