Frankie Dettori enjoyed a memorable ninth Gold Cup success on his final ride in the race aboard the John and Thady Gosden-trained Courage Mon Ami.

The rider, who is to retire at the end of the season, pushed the unbeaten son of Frankel out to defeat Coltrane and land the biggest prize June 22 at Royal Ascot.

Royal Ascot coverage courtesy of Racing Post

It was a second victory for Dettori at this year’s meeting following success aboard Gregory  — for the same Wathnan Racing ownership —in the Group 2 Queen’s Vase June 21.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Dettori. “I thought it was a bridge too far from handicaps to a Group 1 but it was the perfect race. This is what it’s all about.

“I thought he [Coltrane] was going to come back, and in fairness my horse is still a baby, but when the other horse did come back he picked up again.”

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The John and Thady Gosden-trained Courage Mon Ami recorded his fourth success having successfully negotiated a step up in class and grade.

He is the first winner of the Gold Cup for the Gosden yard since Stradivarius completed a hat-trick in 2020.

John Gosden said: “We didn’t know if he’d stay — you can’t practice two and a half miles at home — but Frankie stayed cool, kept him in the dark down on the inside and saved every inch. I saw he went to go outside in the straight and they all said no, go back in, but luckily he managed to wriggle through.

“It’s a great ride for Frankie and it crowns his week.”

Emotions for Gosden and Dettori were very different 12 months ago as, after the defeat of Stradivarius, the trainer blamed his jockey for “over-complicating” the ride. He finished an unlucky third behind Kyprios.

The comments led to a short break of the successful Gosden-Dettori combination before the parties teamed up again a few months later.

Gosden added: “We had one argument in 30 years but we patched it all up after five days and won Group 1s straight away in Deauville. We had a disagreement; that’s fine and that’s professional but we kicked on with life. Look at the result here.” —James Stevens/Racing Post

Desert Hero Prevails in Thriller for King Charles

Desert Hero gave the King and Queen a historic success at Royal Ascot in the royal silks, winning the June 22 King George V Stakes at odds of 18-1.

A victorious Desert Hero. (Eclipse Sportswire)

He pounced late under Tom Marquand to win on the line from Valiant King and provide King Charles III with a first success at the royal meeting since the death of Queen Elizabeth II last September.

The winner was trained by William Haggas, who was in the royal procession before racing on Wednesday. It was just the King’s fourth runner at Royal Ascot this week and more than twice the odds of his first three.

The King collected the prize with Queen Camilla, who could be seen close to tears in TV pictures of the royal box in the aftermath of the surprise win. Zara Tindall, granddaughter of the late Queen Elizabeth II, said the victory was bittersweet for the royal family.

She said to ITV: “Think how proud our grandmother, the Queen, would’ve been. To have a winner for Charles and Camilla and keep that dream alive was incredible. It’s a new excitement. Like all those owners that come here and have a horse here having that dream, that hope, and then fulfilling it is incredible.

“The horses are the main game here, that’s why we get involved and love them and the competition, the adrenaline — it’s indescribable.”

Marquand said it was one of the biggest victories of his career. It was his fourth at Royal Ascot and first at this year’s meeting.

He said: “Genuinely, that’s one of the proudest moments I’ve had in the saddle so far. It’s not to the same level that Estimate was on but I grew up watching horses like that win for the Queen and to ride the King’s first Royal Ascot winner is unbelievable. It’s a dream.

“Racing has an amazing way of making things happen when they’re meant to. Wednesday was a tough day, in racing terms, but Royal Ascot is the pinnacle. Riding a royal winner at the royal meeting is so, so special.

“I had to thread the eye of the needle but he was supremely game. As the Haggas team shows time and time again, they just get it right time and time again.”—James Stevens/Racing Post

Valiant Force Authors Monumental Upset in Norfolk

Valiant Force sprang a sensational 150-1 shock in the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes at Ascot Racecourse June 22 where he became the joint-biggest priced Royal Ascot winner alongside 2020 Coventry Stakes winner Nando Parrado.

Valiant Force winning Norfolk Stakes. (Eclipse Sportswire)

The colt, who was a shorter price at 119-1 odds in a pari-mutuel wagering pool offered in America, was dismissed by bettors, having finished second on his debut in a listed contest and then only fifth in Group 3 company last time out May 27.

But the 2-year-old was always to the fore under Rossa Ryan and held off 66-1 shot Malc in second by 1 1/4 lengths, with favorite Elite Status another half-length away in third.

It was the first Royal Ascot winner for Kia Joorabchian’s Amo Racing, which had Crispy Cat finish third in a controversial running of this race last year when their colt was hampered by winner The Ridler, who was allowed to keep the race by the stewards.

Valiant Force is trained in County Westmeath by Adrian Murray and his jockey told ITV Racing: “To be fair to the lads, they were confident he would run a big race.

“If you took away his last run at the Curragh, when he was on his own, he ran a stormer first time up in a listed race, that’s how much they thought of him.

“He’s bred well, he’s bred to be a sprinter, and he’s something else to look at. He jumped well, did everything right.”—David Carr/Racing Post