Stable flagbearer Rebel’s Romance provided trainer Charlie Appleby with his first Royal Ascot success in three years with a typically brave success in the Hardwicke Stakes.
He was the handler’s final runner of the week and travelled powerfully under William Buick before being sent for home two furlongs out.
William Buick's mount soon opened up a lead and while Al Riffa (4/1) went in persistent pursuit, the globetrotting leader wasn’t for catching.
He hit the line two lengths to the good with Amo Racing’s new recruit Ghostwriter (5/1) running well in third.
This was a 13th Group success for the remarkable winner.
Appleby said: “If you are asking me about Rebel’s Romance then you don’t know about racing. He is a world wide superstar. Full credit to the horse first and foremost, and to the team, as it has been a tough week, but that is what you expect when you come here. It is the Olympics.
“You can come here thinking you are fully loaded and have great chances and you can walk away with excuses, but that is racing. I would like to think we compose ourselves well and take it on the chin and we look forward to moving on. I was always taught from a young age coming into racing that you applaud every winner and enjoy your own. I know how hard it is for people to get horses here, let alone have a winner.
“I felt going to York it gave people going there a chance to see a horse like him. Today, for him to do it on this stage, is what he richly deserved himself. It has been a tough week for everyone, but they have kept their chins up and kept battling on and like I say if there was one man who was going to pull it out of the bag it was Rebel’s Romance. I’m just glad we have managed to put one on the board ourselves. I knew once William had made the move that it would be a tough one to get past him.
Joseph O’Brien said of the runner-up: “It was a fantastic run and we were probably unlucky to meet a horse like Rebel’s Romance in that race, but I’m very proud of our lad as he is a real star for us. He has run his legs off again today and there will be plenty more good days for him between now and the end of the season.
“He is a beautiful horse and he always runs to a rating not too far off 120 and it is hard to find horses like that. He is obviously a multiple Group One winner. I wouldn’t be against trying a little bit further at some stage. He has plenty of stamina in his pedigree and I think we will think outside the box now with him.”
Kia Joorabchian said of Ghostwriter: “That was his first time over that trip, and I think he has handled that trip very well. He has definitely not disappointed as that is probably one of his best runs ever. Clearly he has got a very strong heart. I think he will give us a lot of fun. He likes this sort of ground so somewhere like America or Australia he will relish.
"There are no decisions from us yet, but we are very pleased with his run and I think he has proved that the amount we had invested in him was worthy of that. We just wanted to see how this race went and how he handled everything and how he handled the trip. I think he has done us proud. Of course you would like to win, but he was beaten by a horse that has won the Sheema Classic, the Breeders’ Cup Turf and big races in Qatar.”
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