Ombudsman, a five-year-old Godolphin colt trained jointly by John Gosden and his son Thady Gosden, won the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 17 for the second consecutive year [1, 2, 3, 4]. Ridden by William Buick, Ombudsman won by 4 lengths over Minnie Hauk, a multiple Group One-winning filly trained by Aidan O'Brien and ridden by Ryan Moore [1, 3]. Daryz, the winner of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, also ran but finished behind Ombudsman [1, 2, 3, 4].
The Prince of Wales's Stakes is a Group 1 race over 2,000 meters (10 furlongs) at Royal Ascot, with a prize of £1 million (S$1.7 million) [1, 2, 3, 4]. Ombudsman demonstrated extraordinary acceleration and a phenomenal turn of foot to claim the victory, traits highlighted by both Buick and John Gosden. Buick called Ombudsman's turn of foot "mind blowing," describing it as "that of a miler but he stays 10 furlongs" and called the performance "amazing" [1]. Gosden said, "This horse has a phenomenal turn of foot and showed that touch of class. It is quite something to draw away from the class of horse behind him, that is one of the great performances of his career" [2].
Ombudsman became the first horse to win back-to-back Prince of Wales's Stakes since Muhtarram in 1994-1995, also trained by John Gosden [1, 2, 4]. The win marked John Gosden's 72nd Ascot winner and William Buick's 40th [1, 2, 4]. Gosden remarked, "Ascot is enormous now. It is so big in our season and the Prince of Wales's Stakes is one of the jewels. To win these races is what it's all about and it's great to beat the best on this stage" [1].
The race featured pacemakers Devil's Advocate and Mississippi River to set the early tempo [1, 3]. Minnie Hauk, who finished second, came off as a strong contender but was outpaced in the final stretch. O'Brien said of his filly, "We thought what happened the last day was that she’s really a mile-and-a-half filly, and over a mile-and-a-quarter she wanted an end-to-end gallop. Obviously, that was going to suit the winner as well" [3].
Aidan O'Brien ended the Royal Ascot meeting with 99 winners to date. His trainee Victorious maintained an unbeaten record by winning the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes, despite being blind in her left eye [1, 2, 4]. O'Brien credited careful handling, saying, "One has to bring her along gently, you do not want to frighten her. Thanks to the excellent care taken of her at Coolmore Stud when she came to us she had great confidence" [2].
Ombudsman's next major target is the Juddmonte International Stakes at York in August [1, 3].
