Reaching High out of luck as first Willie Mullins-trained horse in royal colours disappoints at Ascot Stakes
A first horse trained by Willie Mullins to carry the royal colours, Reaching High was the 11-4 favourite in the hands of Ryan Moore - but while he looked full of running rounding the home turn, he was all dressed up with nowhere to go against the rail and when he did eventually get out it was all too late.
Up front Henry de Bromhead's fellow Irish raider Ascending (20-1) knuckled down under Billy Lee in the concluding stages of the two-and-a-half-mile contest to beat Nurburgring, with the latter's trainer Joseph O'Brien also saddling the third and fourth home in Comfort Zone and Leinster.
Mullins said: "Ryan just said he got no run. He's finished full of running, but just got no luck in running, so it's disappointing.
"Their Majesties are very easy, lovely people to train for and it's a pleasure. There's a bit more pressure when you train one for them at this meeting, but to bring one here with a real chance is what we like to do. Hopefully this fellow will show us how good he is at some stage later in the season."
Mullins added: "Poniros (17th) was probably a little too keen and had run his race before he got to the straight, so it's back to the drawing board with him."
As for the winner, De Bromhead explained the Ascot Stakes was not even his first choice.
"I'm delighted. I wanted to go for the mile and six (Copper Horse Stakes), I thought he had a great chance but he didn't get in so we ran in this one and now we've won - happy days," said De Bromhead.
"He's just a star. He was bought to go hurdling and he ran very well over hurdles but he never really loved it, so we said we'd go back on the Flat.
"I think we'll stay on the Flat, he seems to love it so I think we should.
"Billy opted to go out and get a bit of light, the horse travelled beautifully and he gave him a super ride. He knew he had a kick so he used the kick a bit earlier than he had planned.
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"It's amazing to win any of these races, we're fortunate enough to train good horses. We're very lucky."
Earlier, Field Of Gold lit up the opening day with a dominant display in the St James's Palace Stakes.
John and Thady Gosden's colt had been a fast-finishing second behind Ruling Court in the 2000 Guineas before easily winning the Irish equivalent, while the French Guineas winner Henri Matisse was also running.
There was no doubt who emerged as the best of the three though, as Colin Keane breezed through on the 8-11 favourite before bursting clear to beat Henri Matisse by three and a half lengths, with Ruling Court back in third.
Field Of Gold has now charted the same route as his sire Kingman, who also suffered defeat at Newmarket before gaining Irish redemption and adding Royal Ascot glory when trained by John Gosden.
'Like father, like son,' said Gosden, in reference to Kingman's win in 2014. 'The nerves may have got to the trainer beforehand but thankfully not to the horse or the jockey.
'It was great, a great performance and Oisin (Murphy) did a nice job on Windlord setting an even pace and he came to the head of the straight and he had a lot of horse.
'For a moment I was thinking 'whoops, this is Ascot and it climbs and have we gone a bit soon'. I wasn't watching him, I was looking back as you always have to do here, but fortunately none of the dangers were coming to get him.
'He always impressed as a two-year-old but he was a big boy and slightly outgrew himself. We ran him in France which was a mistake in itself and I should have run him in the Dewhurst and I regret that. But this year he has been exemplary in everything he has done and he's a pleasure to train because he is a pretty relaxed character.'
Gosden admitted the Irish 2,000 Guineas had not originally been part of Field Of Gold's intended campaign, which could influence where the colt heads next.
He added: 'It was never the plan to go to Ireland and he's had a trial and two Guineas and now this which is a lot of racing and we're not even halfway through the season yet.
'Maybe (we'll) freshen him up now and go to the Sussex, but we will see. If we hadn't gone to Ireland, I would have been keen to go to the Eclipse.
'When they win like that and make it look easy they do take a lot out of themselves and I don't want to be someone seen running him back quick in an Eclipse straight off the back of this.'
Scottish challenger American Affair finished best to land the King Charles III Stakes for Jim Goldie and Paul Mulrennan.
Successful in valuable handicaps at Musselburgh and York, the five-year-old was perhaps unfortunate not to finish closer than he did when fifth in the Temple Stakes at Haydock and was an 11-1 chance for this Group One debut.
Settled in midfield as the likes of Regional and Night Raider blazed a trail, American Affair was produced with his challenge inside the final two furlongs and found plenty for pressure to get the better of a protracted duel with Frost At Dawn by a neck.
Gstaad blew the Coventry Stakes field apart to give Aidan O'Brien an 11th win in the feature.
Sent off the 7-2 favourite and drawn on the near side, his group appeared to be behind for much of the way before Ryan Moore sent him towards the centre of the track with two furlongs to run.
It never really looked in doubt from there and he came home three lengths clear of 80-1 outsider Do Or Do Not on the far side, with Coppull third at 66-1.
O'Brien said: 'I'm absolutely delighted and he looks a very good horse, doesn't he – you don't win the Coventry like that often and he was visually very good.
'We've always loved him and he's only had the one run, obviously, but has always worked like a good horse. This was the first horse Ryan rode when he came over in January or February time and he was highly thought of then.
'He's big, he's scopey and goes with his head down and is very genuine and he looks like he will get further than six. He has all the attributes.
'I'd imagine we would go for a Group One now and the Prix Morny is what they usually do after winning this.'
Richard Hannon was left to reflect on a 'horrible' nose defeat for stable star Rosallion in the Queen Anne Stakes.
A narrow winner of the St James's Palace Stakes on this day 12 months ago, the son of Blue Point finished a promising third on his return from almost a year off the track in the Lockinge at Newbury last month and was a 5-2 favourite to claim his fourth career Group One win under Sean Levey.
Rosallion quickened up smartly down the outside of the field to ensure he reversed the form with the two that finished in front of him at Newbury – Lead Artist and Dancing Gemini – but having looked likely to pick up Docklands late on, the latter battled back to claim the narrowest of victories.
And Docklands narrowly got the better of Rosallion in a thrilling climax to the Queen Anne Stakes.
A strong field of 10 runners went to post for the traditional curtain-raiser, with the market dominated by the first four home in last month's Lockinge Stakes at Newbury.
Rosallion, who finished third at Newbury, was the 5-2 favourite to get back on the winning trail and looked set to oblige after being produced with a well-timed run by Sean Levey, but having been last out of the starting stalls before fighting his way to the front, Harry Eustace's 14-1 shot Docklands refused to bend under Australian jockey Mark Zahra and clung on by a nose.
Cairo, who was sent off a 100-1 shot, was a further length and three-quarters back in third.
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