mobanmarketDubai: Frankie Dettori produced his trademark ride aboard the exciting Godolphin-bred filly, Raffle Prize, to win the opening Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes on day two at Royal Ascot.
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One of the most highly regarded juvenile races for fillies, the five-furlong dash was contested by a big field of 28 runners, with several contenders boasting strong claims, including the favourite Final Song, who was racing out of Saeed Bin Surour’s Godolphin Stables in Newmarket.
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However, it was Raffle Prize, who outsprinted the John Velasquez-ridden American raider Kimari in a contest run in steady rain at the Berkshire track.
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– Mark Johnston | Trainer###
Final Song, the mount of big-race Belgian jockey Christophe Soumillon, ran on for third place with less than a length separating the first three home.
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Dettori, who was notching up a 61st Royal Ascot winner, told ITV Racing: “When I saw Wesley’s (Ward) horse upsides, I thought oh my God, he’s a good friend of mine, if I beat him, he will go crazy!
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“My filly was very brave. She jumped good and I knew she had won over six furlongs, so when I saw Wesley’s filly I decided to take her on early,” he added.
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“I knew that if it was a test of stamina she would give in sooner or later and in the final 200 metres I saw her stride start to shorten. I knew I had her.”
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Royal Ascot wins for Dettori following Wednesday’s Queen Mary success###
Raffle Prize raced in the colours of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, who has several horses in training with the North Yorkshire-based Scottish trainer Mark Johnston.
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“People are always asking you about your Royal Ascot chances,” said Johnston, who saddled his 44th Royal Ascot winner. “They are all effectively maiden winners running here. There’s nothing with a great deal of form to go on. All you can do is run your best horses at the time.
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“We thought she deserved to be here, but you can’t say how good she is in relation to the others. We thought she had a great chance.”
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Johnston also went so far as to pay Dettori the ultimate tribute.
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“No disrespect to Lester Piggott, but isn’t Frankie Dettori just the greatest jockey?” he said, smiling from behind dark sunglasses.
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“Frankie was a true professional as a young jockey back in 1993, and I know he is a superstar — on the big day he’s special!”
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Ward, for whom Dettori won the Queen Mark with aboard Lady Aurelia in 2017, was gracious in defeat and said: “Frankie did me in. I was very concerned about the rain, but obviously she likes the soft, so that is a good thing moving forward.
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“You don’t know which ones like the soft, but it shows she liked it, as did Lady Aurelia.”
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Meanwhile, Oisin Murphy and Dashing Willoughby won the Queen’s Vase while Crystal Ocean claimed his first Group 2 success in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes, the feature event on Wednesday.
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