Ireland's mighty Coolmore racing empire finally got off the mark at Royal Ascot 2010 Friday with two winners on day four of the meeting. Relief was etched on the faces of trainer Aidan O'Brien and jockey Johnny Murtagh who were responsible Thursday for Age of Aquarius, so narrowly beaten by Rite of Passage in a thrilling battle for the Ascot Gold Cup. Lillie Langtry got the ball rolling in the Group One Coronation Stakes when she won by one and a quarter lengths from fellow Irish challenger Gile na Greine. Murtagh and O'Brien have always thought very highly of Lillie Langtry, an unlucky loser in the Irish 1,000 Guineas who also suffered a knee injury in last year's Breeders' Cup. Murtagh said: “I had a perfect run, saved ground on the bend. She is truly a champion. I thought she was by far our best filly last year and going to America I was telling Aidan how far we were going to win the Breeders' Cup by.” Just over an hour later, Murtagh got up in desperate finish to triumph by a nose on 2-1 favorite Mikhail Glinka in the Queen's Vase from 18-1 outsider Theology. Murtagh said: “He stays well and I think he could make up into a Gold Cup horse.” Earlier, the 20 owners in the Highclere syndicate were back celebrating in the unsaddling enclosure again after Memory landed a last-gasp victory in the Albany Stakes to follow Approve's 16-1 triumph Thursday. It was a typical Richard Hughes triumph with the stylish jockey coming late and fast to land the spoils on the line in thrilling fashion by a head from 7-1 chance Margot Did. It was Hughes's third win of the week at Britain's top race meeting. Rating the filly very highly in the stable of his father-in-law Richard Hannon, Hughes said: “She will get a mile standing on her head and she needed every yard of the six furlongs today. She's small but she is as good a moving filly as I have sat on for a while.” Frankie Dettori was back in flying dismount mode for the third time this week after Monterosso (7-2) won the King Edward VII Stakes with ease. Trained by Mark Johnston, Monterosso may now be aimed at the Irish Derby later this month.
