Desert Hero gave King Charles his first Royal Ascot winner with victory in the King George V Stakes, on the day Frankie Dettori claimed his ninth Gold Cup triumph.
Desert Hero (18-1), ridden by Tom Marquand, finished strong to beat Valiant King and Bertinelli.
Marquand said it was “one of his proudest moments in the saddle.”
In the Gold Cup, Dettori went 15-2 courage my friend to victory in a jockey’s last Royal Ascot meeting.
The 52-year-old Italian, who retires later this year, had to fight hard in the closing stages of the race with 11-4 favorite Coltrane on the inside but prevailed to secure another triumph in the race he won for the first time on board Drum Taps in 1992.
Courage Mon Ami is the four-year-old son of the legendary Frankel racehorse and has won his last three races for trainers John and Tedy Gosden.
Dettori took the famous trophy from King Charles and Queen Camilla and even kissed the podium on the Queen’s cheek.
“Unbelievable. I thought it was a bridge too far. But I had the perfect race,” Dettori said.
“I thought Coltrane would come back. Honestly (Courage Mon Ami) is still a baby so (it’s been a great run).”
Dettori, who took the Queen’s Cup aboard Gregory on Wednesday, then performed his trademark flying dismount to the delight of the Ascot crowd.
earlier, Valorous power took a shock 150-1 victory in the Norfolk Stakes to become joint top-priced winner at Royal Ascot alongside 2020 Coventry Stakes winner Nando Parado.
Elite Status was the favorite but finished third while 66-1 Malc came home second.
The king’s horse brings a “dream” victory
The William Haggas-trained Desert Hero had to hold off a spirited charge by second-placed Valiant King in the final furlong but gave a head to secure what Marquand called a “dream” victory in the royal silks.
King Charles collected the award with Queen Camilla, who both looked delighted with the result in the royal box.
Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September, was a regular visitor to the winner’s enclosure during her reign and her granddaughter Zara Tindall told ITV Racing that success had been bittersweet for the family.
“Think how proud our grandmother, the Queen, would be,” she said. “Having a winner for Charles and Camilla and keeping that dream alive was amazing. It’s a new excitement.
“Like all those owners who come here and have a horse here, to have that dream, that hope, and then to fulfill it, it’s amazing.”
Rossa Ryan guided the Adrian Murray-trained two-year-old Valiant Force to victory by a length and a quarter in the Norfolk Stakes to secure Kia Joorabchian’s Amo Racing’s first win of the meeting.
Highly touted challenger American Rascal from the United States could only manage a 13th place with jockey Joel Rosario.
“To be fair to the boys, they were confident he was going to have a big race,” Murray said.
“If you took away his last run at the Curragh when he was on his own, he was running with a stormer for the first time 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 see.”