Emotional Ascot for Murtagh ends on high

Johnny Murtagh is unlikely to forget Royal Ascot 2002 in a hurry.

The Irish jockey has experienced every emotion at this week’s meeting but it ended firmly on a high as he retained the London Clubs Trophy for the leading rider.

Murtagh’s achievement was made all the more noteworthy by the fact that he only rode on three of the five days of this year’s meeting.

Indeed he was on the mark at Down Royal on Saturday afternoon as Lowlander took the Eastwoods Bookmakers Handicap for his boss John Oxx.

He started the meeting with a win in the very first race, partnering No Excuse Needed to win the Queen Anne Stakes.

But it was a week that also saw Murtagh ruled out of the Budweiser Irish Derby by suspension for the second year running, after he received a four-day ban for using his whip with excessive frequency on Royal Rebel, the winner of Thursday’s Gold Cup.

Saying he was ‘‘totally disillusioned with racing’’, he left the track under a cloud only to return less than 24 hours later and ride a double on Balakheri and Revenue.

At the start of Saturday’s racing, Richard Hughes needed just one third placing or better to overhaul Murtagh as both had ridden four winners, two seconds and a third.

But Hughes failed to get the required result and Murtagh took the title by virtue of riding one fourth-placed horse.

His trophy was collected by Royal Rebel’s trainer Mark Johnston, who also took the leading trainer award for the meeting, which ended with its traditional finale, the Queen Alexandra Stakes.

Run over a little more than two and three-quarter miles, the race is the longest in the British Flat calendar.

And it was Cover Up, produced with a telling late surge by Kieren Fallon, who sent his supporters home happy.

‘‘He loves this place,’’ said winning trainer Michael Stoute. ‘‘He is no Brown Jack but he has now won the Ascot Stakes and the Queen Alexandra.

‘‘He’s in the Northumberland Plate and I wouldn’t rule that out. Two miles is a minimum trip for him.’’

The final-day attendance of 57,700 put the week’s attendance through the 300,000-barrier.

‘‘The additional day of the meeting to celebrate the Golden Jubilee has produced our biggest-ever Saturday crowd at Ascot by far,’’ said chief executive Douglas Erskine-Crum.

‘‘We broke the regular four-day Royal Ascot record for attendances on the first four days, including new record crowds for the Tuesday and Friday.’’