Watch: Victorious stamps herself in the Queen Mary Stakes

Victorious overcame a remarkable setback to stamp herself as one of the most compelling juvenile winners of the Royal Ascot carnival, producing an impressive display in the Queen Mary Stakes despite being blind in one eye.

A daughter of Wootton Bassett, Victorious lost the vision in her left eye after developing a cataract long before arriving at Aidan O’Brien’s Ballydoyle academy.

She’s well named! Victorious wins the Queen Mary Stakes! #RoyalAscot winner number 99 for Aidan O’Brien! pic.twitter.com/tfpnYdMFra

— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 17, 2026

But none of that mattered on the track.

Already a dual winner at six furlongs, Victorious dropped back to five furlongs for the first time in the Queen Mary Stakes, avoiding a clash with stablemate Sun Goddess in Friday’s Albany Stakes, and showed plenty of natural speed to defeat rivals from Britain, France and the United States as the 100-30 favourite with Aussie betting sites.

“She’s a very smart filly,” O’Brien said.

“She only has the vision in one eye, so we were a little bit worried where she was drawn, but Ryan was brilliant on her.

“He reassured her. He took his time, eased into it and took her to her left where she could get a clear run.

“She’s probably very classy.

“Ryan got her into a small group and slowly got her out and he reassured her all the time.

“When he rode her in Naas, he loved her.”

Ryan Moore, never one to overstate things, was similarly glowing in his assessment, suggesting Victorious could be heard from plenty more this season and beyond.

“She’s a gorgeous filly,” Moore said.

“I think the world of her — she’s got a lot of talent.

“She’s just a sweetheart, she’s always shown plenty and has always been a very natural filly.

“She has a lot of pace and loads of quality.

“She’s so straightforward, a peak professional.”

Senorita Bonita, who cost 900,000 guineas at the breeze-ups, ran a brave race in defeat, leading with a furlong to run before having to settle for second on just her second start.