Olympic lands QEII Glory

Olympic Glory routed the opposition to win the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot.

Richard Hannon's three-year-old burst through a narrow gap between Top Notch Tonto and Kingsbarns a furlong out and the race was over as a contest.

The supplemented Top Notch Tonto ran an unbelievable race to finish second, but Richard Hughes was able to coast home aboard the blinkered Olympic Glory (11-2) to win by three and a quarter lengths. Kingsbarns finished third.

There was a strong pace set with two pacemakers in the field, but Top Notch Tonto loomed up two furlongs out and looked to be going best of all. That was until Hughes brought Olympic Glory to the head of affairs and sealed the deal within a matter of strides.

Dawn Approach, the 2-1 favourite, failed to quicken up in the soft ground after holding every chance.

Olympic Glory runs in the colours of Sheikh Joaan Al Thani, who won the Arc two weeks ago with Treve.

Hughes said: "We always believed in him - he just travelled so well in that soft ground."

Hannon added: "I spoke to The Queen this morning and she said she was presenting the trophy for the QEII, so I said, 'I'll see you later!'. It's funny how it's worked out. It's great.

"He's a very good horse, this. The French race (Prix du Moulin) turned out a bit of a mess, but he ran a hell of a race in the Jacques le Marois (second behind Moonlight Cloud).

"He likes a bit of a cut in the ground. We put a pair of blinkers on him at home and Hughesie settled him nicely. They certainly helped. He stays in training next year. That will probably be it for him this year."

The handler's son, Richard jnr, added: "It's a big shout to put blinkers on a good horse like him, but he lost his concentration in Paris last time and he was disappointing after his run in the Marois. They went very fast today and that helped him - he travelled very well. He's always gone well on this ground."

Brian Ellison was understandably delighted with the runner-up, saying: "That was no fluke, he took the race by the scruff of the neck - I just wish they hadn't put blinkers on the winner!

"That will probably be it for him for this year. I'm looking forward to next year with cut in the ground, but I think he could go well on dirt."

Aidan O'Brien said of Kingsbarns: "That will probably be it for this season. He was our best horse last year but had lots of problems in the spring. He'll be some horse next year."