Mission accomplished for Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore in King Charles III
Mission Central ridden by Ryan Moore on their way to winning the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot. It was trainer Aidan O'Brien's 98th career winner at the meeting. Pic: John Walton/PA Wire.
Mission Central won the international battle of speedsters in the King Charles III Stakes to give Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore the full set of Group Ones at Royal Ascot.
As the field approached the final stages it looked as though Australia was going to land the prize, with Overpass and 2024 Asfoora leading the charge to the line.
But the three-year-old Ballydoyle gelding, a 14-1 shot, swooped fast and late on the stands side rail to deny French raider Rayevka by a head. Overpass held on to make the podium in third place, three-quarters of a length away, as O’Brien moved ever closer to a career century of winners at the Royal meeting.
O’Brien, saddling his 98th winner at this meeting, said: “There’s a big team behind this horse and I’m delighted for them. Ryan gave him a beautiful ride and he is clearly very fast.
“They went hard which suited him. In all his races he’s very forward because they don’t go very fast and he’s got an awful lot of speed.
“Ryan gave him a great ride, he obviously knew they were going really hard and he really motivated him inside the last furlong, incredible. I’m delighted for everyone.
“He’s very quick horse this horse. He’s a horse that could suit The Everest at the end of the year.”
He added: “He’s a horse that keeps coming forward through the year, he’s a very exciting horse. He’s incredibly quick and he’s just progressed and progressed with every run, I’m delighted with that and very pleased for Ryan too as he’s always been keen on him.
“That five is very quick and they went hard today, but I do think he will get further in time. We know he gets six (furlongs) and I think he might stay further than that too.”
Moore – recording Royal Ascot winner number 93 – said: “Aidan can do anything, can’t he. He’s a progressive horse. They went hard and he just landed there, it worked out beautifully.
“I just ride from race to race, Aidan’s record is incredible and everything he runs here this week will have a chance.”
Bjorn Baker felt Overpass lost nothing in defeat and preferred to focus on the positive aspects of his run.
“He went super, he did us very proud. I just said he’s not quite a champion in terms of Australia, but he’s our champion, and he delivered for us again. It’s absolutely special to be here, and I personally want to get back competing, but he did us very proud,” said Baker, whose seven-year-old holds an entry on Saturday in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes.
“When you’re from Woodville in New Zealand like me and you’re training in Sydney and living the dream, we always look at the positive. We beat 23 others!
“He’s gone amazingly. He’s a war horse to travel over. We were always a little bit worried about the rise, and maybe that was the difference between winning and losing. He didn’t quite nail the gate like we thought he would today, but look, I’ve been beaten by two of the best trainers in the world.
“Tell you what, I want to beat them next time! In Australia we love an underdog and we’ll have a try. Trust me, I haven’t bought this hat for nothing!”
Francis-Henri Graffard, meanwhile, is determined to enjoy success with Rayevka at the top level and feels the five furlongs is the optimum trip for her.
He said: “She has an amazing turn of foot over that distance, when she came, she really came strongly – I thought it was in the bag for us. But on the post, I knew we were beaten unfortunately. She finished very strongly.
“Dropping back in distance was key for me. In Dubai, she showed that six furlongs was too long for her, so five furlongs on fast ground, that was a race for her. She was in top form, she proved it today on the track – you can’t be frustrated. It’s a fantastic run and hopefully we will be able to win a Group One this year.”
