Winning at Royal Ascot is an enormous challenge for any horse, even those with perfect vision.
It was therefore remarkable that Victorious ‘blindsided’ her rivals in the opening Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes to retain her unbeaten record and become the first horse in nearly 20 years to win at the Royal meeting with one eye.
Left without sight in her left eye from a young age, the Aiden O’Brien-trained daughter of Wootton Bassett emulated the achievements of another brilliant race mare in Barshiba who won at this meeting in 2007 despite also having sight in just one eye.
Faced with 26 rivals, most of whom were situated on her ‘blindside’ because of her draw in stall five, the 100/30 favourite powered clear from the furlong marker under Ryan Moore to score by two lengths from Senorita Bonita.
O’Brien, who in contrast is often described as possessing 20/20 vision himself, moved to 99 career Royal Ascot winners with the success and was fulsome in his praise for his filly’s achievements.
He said: ‘Victorious is very classy. She only has sight in one eye, so we were a little worried about where she was drawn (stall five), but Ryan was brilliant on her. He reassured her and let her find her way through. He got a little group to follow and then took her to the outside.
One-eyed Victorious became the first one-eyed winner since Barshiba, who won in 2007
Trainer Aidan O’Brien was handed his winner’s trophy by Gareth Southgate as he recorded his 99th Royal Ascot success
‘We had her and the filly that’s in the Albany (Sun Goddess) and we tried to split them. Everyone thought this filly might be OK over five furlongs, but she is ideally suited by six and even further.
‘I am delighted for everyone who puts so much into it. They are the ones who deal with her every day, nourish her and reassure her.
‘She came from Coolmore and I think she lost her sight through a cataract or something when she was a foal or a yearling. She has a lot of quality and it’s very hard to beat quality.’
A genuinely delighted Moore added: ‘Victorious is a gorgeous filly, and we think the world of her. She has a lot of talent. She is blind in her left eye, so she can’t see anything on that side.
‘She is just a sweetheart. She has always shown plenty and is a very natural filly, with a lot of pace and loads of quality. She is so straightforward, an absolute peak professional.’
Trainer John Gosden labelled Ombudsman’s explosive Prince Of Wales’s Stakes triumph as ‘one of the great performances’ of the five-year-old’s career after witnessing him dismantle a top-class field in the prestigious Group 1.
Dual Classic winner Minnie Hawk, last year’s Arc hero Daryz and the top-class Almaqam were all left trailing in the wake of the winner who showcased his stunning change of gear in the Ascot straight to sprint four lengths of his toiling rivals under a confident William Buick.
Gosden, who also saddled Muhtarram to successive Prince Of Wales’s Stakes victories in 1994 and 1995 said: ‘Aidan [O’Brien] had a pacemaker and we thought we’d have ours doing what we wanted to do as well. They wound up meeting coming into the bend and off the bend, so they obviously agreed on the pace.
‘I thought they were going to have to go a bit with a furlong to go, but Ombudsman has got a phenomenal turn of foot. He just showed that class. It is quite something to come away from a field like that.
‘The filly ran great, the Arc winner ran great, but overall, I thought it was one of the great performances of Ombudsman’s career.
‘The Juddmonte International will be a major target, of course, as he likes York. We are very lucky to have some wonderful owners who send us those top-class horses because, let me tell you, you can’t train empty boxes.’
Joseph O’Brien, son of Ballydoyle handler, is another from the all-conquering racing dynasty enjoying a great week and Queen’s Vase winner Limestone and King Of Cloughan, 33/1 shock winner of the finale under Billy Loughnane, combined to give the Irish trainer a near 150/1 day two double.
Royal Hunt Cup winner Rogue Diplomat, part-owned by ITV Racing presenter Rishi Persad, was a first Royal winner for trainer James Owen and 21-year-old rider Harry Davies when winning the marquee handicap at 28/1.
