Frankie Dettori piloting Palace Pier (right) to victory in the Group 1 St James's Palace Stakes on Saturday. - Reuters
Dubai - Palace Pier, owned by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, triumphs in the Group 1 St James's Palace Stakes
Published: Sat 20 Jun 2020, 8:07 PM
Last updated: Sat 20 Jun 2020, 10:14 PM
The UAE and Dubai capped the final day of this year's Royal Ascot in stellar fashion with record-breaking jockey Frankie Dettori piloting Palace Pier to a sensational victory in the Group 1 St James's Palace Stakes on Saturday.
Owned by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Palace Pier was involved in a scintillating battle with hot favourite Godolphin's Pinatubo before taking the winning post.
It swelled the UAE's tally to 12 winners in this edition of the prestigious festival at the picturesque Ascot Racecourse nestled in Berkshire.
And while it brought more cheer to the UAE and Dubai, Dettori's special bond with Royal Ascot and the lush green turf of the Racecourse continued with the famed Italian racking up a hat-trick of wins on the day.
After starting the day by guiding Campanelle to victory in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes, the 49-year-old champion jockey landed the Group 1 Coronation Stakes on Alpine Star.
It brought up his sixth winner at this year's meeting and took his overall tally to 73. Dettori's victory in the Coronation Stakes meant he completed the full set of Group 1 wins at Ascot.
Dettori has won the Gold Cup, Queen Anne Stakes, Prince Of Wales's Stakes, St James's Palace Stakes, Diamond Jubilee Stakes, Commonwealth Cup, King's Stand Stakes, Coronation Stakes.
"I've conquered Royal Ascot," screamed Dettori.
Earlier, Qaader, owned by Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Minister of Finance, was denied a victory in the Group 2 Coventry Stakes.
Qaader, the two-year-old from Night Of Thunder, made a valiant attempt towards the closing stages of the six-furlong affair, under Jim Crowley, but was pipped by a length by Nando Parrado.
Godolphin's Creative Force, too, was in the chasing pack as the 15-horse field headed for home, but got stuck in traffic and eventually ended up 10th.
Earlier, racing on the final day of the festival began with Nahaarr, owned by Jebel Ali Racecourse patron Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, finishing third in the Silver Wokingham Handicap, the first race of the afternoon.
The race was won by Chiefofchiefs, trained by Charlie Fellows and ridden by William Buick. Burmese Waltz finished second, 1 ¼ lengths behind.
Nahaarr, the four-year-old from Dark Angel, the ride of James Doyle, missed out on second, finishing by a head behind Burmese Waltz.
Meanwhile, Summerghand, owned by Hamad Rashed Bin Ghedayer, was second in the Wokingham Stakes.
Palace Pier went toe to toe with Pinatubo in the closing stages before the former pulled away to win by a length. Nonetheless, it was a one-two for Dubai with Pinatubo, who saw his six-win streak halted in the Group 1 2000 Guineas at Newmarket two weeks ago, finished a creditable second.
Palace Pier, the three-year-old colt from Kingman is now unbeaten in four starts.
It also brought up the sixth winner for trainer John Gosden at this year's meeting and his 55th at Royal Ascot.
"What a day," added Dettori.
Meanwhile, despite the defeat, Godolphin handler Charlie Appleby backed Pinatubo.
"Obviously it's disappointing to be beaten again but we saw the Pinatubo we saw last year, for sure. He is so courageous that he held on for second. He is still a class animal. We're not going to write him off yet," said Appleby.
james@khaleejtimes.com
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