Dominica shines on a great day for Tregoning

Marcus Tregoning broke his Royal Ascot duck in spectacular style with a masterful training performance to win the King`s Stand Stakes with Dominica today.

His three-year-old had not raced since winning the Cornwallis Stakes on this course eight months previously and was a 16-1 outsider for her first race against older horses.

But she proved her trainer`s judgement spot-on by showing fine speed to make all under Martin Dwyer - also riding his first winner at the Royal meeting - and hold off Continent by a head.

Red-hot 11-10 favourite Kyllachy gave punters their first major reverse of the fixture by finding trouble in running and finishing third, another half-length adrift.

'She shows blinding speed at home and the idea was to bring her here fresh and it has worked,' said Tregoning, who was saddling only his second Royal Ascot runner.

'The plan was to let her tell us when she was ready and luckily the owners were very patient. It is difficult taking on the older horses but there is a fair swing at the weights and if they are good enough they can do it.

'She`s only tiny but she has got a lovely big heart.'

Tregoning is now looking to all the season`s top five-furlong contests, including the Nunthorpe Stakes at York and the Prix de l`Abbaye at Longchamp.

'As she likes cut in the ground the Abbaye could be a possibility at the end of the season, five furlongs is her best trip,' he said.

'She is very quick. She cold be quite useful - I haven`t trained many sprinters and she is certainly the best I have trained.'

Pat Eddery was banned for three days (June 27-29) for irresponsible riding of a minor nature on the fifth home Indian Prince after being judged to have caused interference to unplaced Misty Eyed around a furlong out.

Today may have been a first for Tregoning but Sir Michael Stoute is no stranger to the winner`s enclosure at the prestigious meeting.

And he celebrated the 25th anniversary of his first Royal Ascot victory by landing the Queen Anne Stakes to make it 41 career triumphs at the Flat season`s biggest fixture.

But Richard Hughes was left with egg on his face as he thought he had got Tillerman up close home and waved his whip in the air in celebration after the line.

The photo-finish revealed that Johnny Murtagh on 13-2 shot No Excuse Needed had held on by a short-head, to give Stoute his third straight victory in the curtain-raiser after Kalanisi in 2000 and Medicean last year.

For good measure Tough Speed took third place for Stoute, who admitted he was also surprised by the tight finish.

'It was a bad angle and I thought we had got beaten,' he said. 'I think Richard Hughes thought so too!

'He deserved a change of luck as first time out this year in Dubai he ripped a shoe off and then he was held up in his preparation for the Lockinge.

'He is a Group One horse and he could go for the Sussex Stakes next. But I am fairly sure he will get 10 furlongs too so we will have to wait and see.'