Olympic Glory spreadeagled his rivals to win the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot which almost certainly sealed the trainers’ championship for veteran Richard Hannon.
Wearing blinkers for the first time, the 11-2 chance burst through a gap for Richard Hughes over a furlong (200m) out and powered clear to win by 3-1/4 lengths.
Top Notch Tonto ran a great race to finish second, justifying Brian Ellison’s decision to persuade owner Keith Brown to put up the STG70,000 ($A118,133) late entry fee.
Aidan O’Brien’s Kingsbarns also ran well for third, with Dawn Approach fourth in what was his final race.
“I spoke to The Queen this morning and she said she was presenting the trophy for the QEII, so I said, ‘I’ll see you later!’,” Hannon said.
“He’s a very good horse, this.
“He likes a bit of a cut in the ground. We put a pair of blinkers of him at home and Hughesie settled him nicely. They certainly helped.
“He stays in training next year.”
Hughes, who is the trainer’s son-in-law, said it was a thrill to be a part of Hannon’s team.
“Hopefully that’s sealed it (championship) for the boss,” he said.
“He’s a fabulous trainer who has been doing it all his life, but it’s really only in the last five years he’s been getting these really good horses. Imagine if he was getting them 20 years ago.”
Godolphin’s racing manager Simon Crisford said the track condition was not to the liking of multiple Group One winner Dawn Approach.
“The ground was against him which blunted his turn of foot but he has won four of the best Group One races in our calender so his record is fantastic,” Crisford said.
“He is now retiring to Kildangan Stud and we are very much looking forward to seeing his progeny in the future.”
