Let the party begin: Early Aussie joy at Royal Ascot
There was no winner for King Charles III and Queen Camilla on the opening day of Royal Ascot, but there was for Australian jockey Mark Zahra riding Australian-owned Docklands.
The double Melbourne Cup-winning rider triumphed despite losing the whip in the closing stages.
Piloting the 14-1 shot Zahra managed to hold off Rosallion in the Group One Queen Anne Stakes as the 5-2 favourite tried to make a late run for the winning post.
Zahra, who won the Melbourne Cup on Gold Trip in 2022 and on Without A Fight in 2023, said his ride was merely planned as a working stopover on his way to the Spanish party island of Ibiza - where tennis superstar Carlos Alcaraz took a break after his French Open success earlier this month.
"This just started as a stop-off on the way to a trip to Ibiza, so to turn into a massive win like this is very special," the 42-year-old said.
"It was a very slow, slow speed and I just crept as much as I could, we got room at the right time and he just kept responding, it was such a tough win.
"Hearing all the Aussies over the fence, even though the horse is English, you'd have thought he was Aussie by all the screams. It was amazing."
As for dropping the whip, he joked: "Everyone kept scaring me about the whip rules, I thought it was just easier to throw it away at the 200m."
The well-travelled Docklands, trained by England's Harry Eustace, is owned by Australian group OTI Racing and was previously unplaced in the Champions Stakes at Flemington and the Hong Kong Mile.
Cairo, a 100-1 shot, came home third in the traditional Royal Ascot curtain-raiser.
Australian horse Asfoora, trained by Victorian Henry Dwyer, was unable to back up her victory in last year's King Charles III Stakes, coming fifth behind American Affair.
Asfoora flagged late on, which was not a surprise as Dwyer had said she did not have the preparation in England she had last year. August's Nunthorpe Stakes at York are seen as more fertile ground.
"There's not much for us at home so it will be Goodwood, York and beyond hopefully," said Dwyer.
There was also no joy for the King and Queen as their horse, Reaching High, failed to back up his status as 3-1 favourite in the Ascot Stakes, finishing ninth under jockey Ryan Moore.
Hours earlier, the monarchs arrived at the course at the head of the traditional carriage procession in front of tens of thousands of racegoers.
The royal procession is celebrating its 200th anniversary, with the tradition beginning during the reign of George IV in 1825 when the monarch was accompanied by the Duke of Wellington.
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