Aidan O’Brien made it Royal Ascot winner number 99 as Victorious landed the Queen Mary Stakes.
The daughter of Wootton Bassett was unbeaten in two going into the race albeit over six furlongs. She was slightly awkwardly away and raced in rear early on up the far-side. Ryan Moore switched her toward the outside of her group, and she took off in impressive fashion. Given the next horse home with a single figure draw was in tenth, her performance could be upgraded.
O’Brien won the race for the first time last season, and made no mistake in landing another Queen Mary. 1000 Guineas winner True Love won the race last season, and Victorious looks every inch as talented.
Speaking to the Press Association, via Racing Post, O’Brien said: “She’s a very smart filly. She only has the vision in one eye. So we were a little bit worried where she was drawn but Ryan was brilliant on her, he reassured her. He took his time, eased into it and took her to her left where she could get a clear run. She’s probably very classy.
“Ryan got her into a small group and slowly got her out and he reassured her all the time. When he rode her in Naas, he loved her.”
“I think the world of her” – Ryan Moore
Ryan Moore is usually calm and collected in the face of success. However, there was a sparkle in his eye and a change in his usual post-race script when discussing this filly. Moore said: “She’s a gorgeous filly. I think the world of her – she’s got a lot of talent. She’s just a sweetheart, she’s always shown plenty and has always been a very natural filly. She has a lot of pace and loads of quality. She’s so straightforward, a peak professional.”
Victorious was followed home by Señorita Bonita, who led the field until the furlong pole. Ironically in the colours of Victorious Forever racing, the Starspangledbanner filly certainly backed up her Nottingham effort. Simon Crisford said: “We’ve done everything right and she’s stepped forward from her debut run at Nottingham. We couldn’t be more pleased with her, and she’ll keep progressing.
“I do think she’s got the right temperament to keep going forward. She’s not going to be just a two-year-old and we have a lot to look forward to. We’ll probably stick to five furlongs next time.
“There’s the Molecomb at Goodwood and races like that to consider, and we will just see how we go. We’ve just bumped into a filly that was better than her on the day, but we’ll take that one on again over five when we can.”