Mickley provided trainer Ed Bethell and jockey Callum Rodriguez with a first Royal Ascot success after completing his hat-trick in the Britannia Stakes.
A winner at Southwell and Doncaster earlier in the year, the three-year-old was among the market principals at 15-2 and after being held up in the middle of three groups of runners, he displayed a smart change of gear to grab the lead.
Skukuza came from out of the pack in an attempt to reel him in, but Mickley was well on top as he passed the post three-quarters of a length clear.
Bethell, who earlier in the week saddled his Sprint Cup hero Regional to finish second in the King Charles III Stakes, said: “It’s a great feeling. I’m just delighted for everyone at home.
“Barry, who has led him up and rides him every day, he’s done a tremendous job on the horse, and Callum got down to a very low weight (8st 11lb), which he never normally does. That took a big effort from him but he had confidence in the horse, so we wanted to keep them together.
“He’s an interesting horse. He does absolutely nothing at home, so I couldn’t tell you where the limit is. He’s got size and scope and he looks the ideal horse to go out to Hong Kong now.
“It is like winning the lottery this race, you can never be confident, so it’s a great day for the whole yard. We are a young team and we’re only just getting started.”
Rodriguez added: “I’m over the moon – it’s the stuff of dreams. We went so close earlier in the week and I’m so glad to get it done.
“It was very smooth for me. I was pretty confident in this horse’s ability and I just wanted to keep it as smooth as possible.
“We got a good run and he was a lot more streetwise today than in his first four starts, so I’m very pleased.”
Port Fairy knuckled down admirably to provide Aidan O’Brien with a fifth victory in the Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot, at the same time helping her jockey Ryan Moore become the leading active Royal Ascot jockey as the rider passed Frankie Dettori's tally of 81.
Previously successful with Bracelet (2014), Even Song (2016), Magic Wand (2018) and Warm Heart (2023), the Ballydoyle handler was double-handed in this year’s renewal, with Ryan Moore siding with 12-1 shot Port Fairy over her stablemate Rubies Are Red.
A winner at Dundalk before being touched off by Forest Fairy in the Cheshire Oaks, Port Fairy was fitted with a visor for her latest assignment and tracked the pacesetting Oaks fourth You Got To Me for much of the mile and a half journey before moving towards the front passing the two-furlong marker.
The daughter of Australia was soon joined by and briefly passed by the strong-travelling Lava Stream, but Port Fairy battled back to claim Group Two honours by a neck under a power-packed Moore drive, with 9-4 favourite Kalpana beating You Got To Me to third.
O'Brien said: “We just thought Epsom was going to come too quick for her [after she finished second in the Cheshire Oaks] so we gave her a bit of time. Ryan said maybe try a visor on her at home, when she was coming here, so we put a visor on her the last day, and her work really stepped up. She looks like she’d be a lovely Irish Oaks filly now, and she gets it well, she stays well. And Ryan was brilliant on her - he didn’t panic even when the second went by her. It was class.
“It’s incredible for Ryan to have achieved what he has, and at his age - he must be 10 years younger than Frankie [Dettori], isn’t he?”
Moore added: "It was a good fight. She has improved a lot this year. She wouldn't show you a great deal in the mornings, she's a very relaxed horse. I had a nice run round, she's straightforward, very uncomplicated, and she really tried hard."
Danny Tudhope, rider of runner-up Lava Stream, said: "She's very much improving, very quickly. She's a talented filly. I thought she could run well today, obviously she was up against it, stepping up again, but she's proven that she's good enough at this level.
"I'm thrilled with that.
"We know what we have and we can learn from this.
"The horses in front of me just weren't taking me into the race, she was just cruising. She wears a hood, she might have thought about it a little bit but she did knuckle down and try and get back against the winner.
"I think I might ride her a bit more quietly because one thing she does do is travel up."
Oisin Murphy, rider of Kalpana who was third, added: "Kalpana ran another career best. She got the mile-and-a-half well. It was a good, even tempo, it was a proper stamina test. Well done to Ryan and the Ballydoyle team.”
Andrew Balding, trainer of runner-up Tropical Storm, said: “I’m delighted. He can mix it at a high level. He’s done very little wrong, but is still a maiden – which is a bit frustrating, but his time will come, I’m sure.”
Adrian Murray, who saddled the third Arizona Blaze, added: “He ran an absolute blinder. You’re on the world stage here, it’s tough. David was saying that he would probably even be better if we stepped him up a furlong. He said six on good ground, maybe five on soft.”
Murray added that Arizona Blaze is a “very versatile horse”, noting the surfaces he has previously won on.
He said: “We’ve entered him in all the top two-year-old races, so we will pick and choose where we go, and will see how he comes out of the race today.”
When asked how Arizona Blaze compares as a model to last year’s winner of the race, he said: “He’s a gorgeous horse, a beautiful horse. He would be very much on a par [with last year’s winner]. This fellow is probably more mature – he’s built like a three-year-old. He has a lot of strength about him."
Wathnan racing, successful earlier in the afternoon with Shareholder in the Norfolk Stakes, doubled up and made it three for the week when English Oak (100/30 favourite) ran away with the Buckingham Palace Stakes.
Up 9lb for a Haydock win before Wathnan bought him, Ed Walker’s four-year-old sprinted clear to prevail by three lengths from Billyjoh.
Walker said: “We believed for a long time he was very good and last year he just wasn’t getting things right in his races. He just wasn’t behaving and getting a bit upset in the stalls.
“Fair play to everyone at home, they’ve all done such a good job and a big thank you to Dave and Sue Ward who owned him up until a few weeks ago, they’ve been huge supporters of my yard and had Starman and have done wonders for my career.
“Richard Brown (of Wathnan) and I go back a long way and when he asked if I could recommend this horse, you shoot from the hip and I wear my heart on my sleeve, and I’m just glad it paid off.
“It was a very tough decision for Dave and Sue and they love their horses. I think it will be bittersweet for them, but they are big into their breeding now and have Starman to support and are increasing their broodmare band – and getting money in makes it work.
“I’ve been banging on about Ascot since he crossed the line here last autumn behind Rohaan, targeting this race or the Wokingham. After his performance at Haydock, the Buckingham Palace was the obvious target.
“It’s been a long plan and there’s been a change of silks, but it’s been great."
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