Victory for Dettori at Queen Anne Stakes
Man of the moment Frankie Dettori landed another Group One success with a fantastic front-running ride on Ramonti (5-1) in the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Dettori, fresh from three Classic victories, set only a steady pace on the five-year-old, formerly trained in Italy, but he was headed inside the final furlong.
He was challenged on all sides by Jeremy, Turtle Bowl and eventually George Washington, who had been keen early on, but Dettori cajoled another run out of his mount.
Ramonti won a thrilling finish by a short head from Jeremy, with the same again back to Turtle Bowl.
The win ended a barren run for Godolphin in top-flight domestic company as Sheikh Mohammed's operation had been winless since Punctilious took the Yorkshire Oaks in August 2005.
Ramonti only joined Saeed Bin Suroor's string in the winter and on his first start for the team he was beaten a short head by Red Evie in the Lockinge at Newbury, but he turned the tables in no uncertain terms.
It was a satisfactory comeback for George Washington, as he had taken a strong hold on his way to post but once the penny dropped, he showed his old turn of foot to suggest he can still cut it at the highest level later in the season.
Dettori said: "They all went by me, but I knew they would come back. He really dug deep and got his head down for me on the line.
"It's been a while since we won a Group One in England. I'm so happy and thrilled for my boss (Sheikh Mohammed) that he is back to where he belongs.
"I didn't really know the horse at Newbury.
"I spoke to my friend Enzo Botti, who used to ride the horse last year. He told me to be brave. The horse stays well. It's very hard to make the running here at Group One level, so it was a very gutsy performance," he told BBC Sport.
Ramonti was giving Godolphin a seventh success in the Queen Anne in the last 12 years
Sheikh Mohammed said: "Some years you have good horses and some years you don't.
"We enjoy it. If you don't have good horses this year you look for more horses to come up.
"We liked Ramonti when we saw a video of his races. We thought we would enjoy racing him."
Michael Stoute was delighted with Jeremy's effort, adding: "That was the best run of his career and I thought when he took it up he might win, but he lugged right."
