Frankie Dettori is ruling the roost once again at Royal Ascot today after he won the opening four races of day three at the Berkshire course - including his seventh Gold Cup.
The 48-year-old Italian jockey has now won 66 races over his career at the venue.
The three-time Champion Jockey came home with a double at the venue yesterday - he won the feature Prince of Wales Stakes for the fourth time of his career, this time on Crystal Ocean. That followed a perfectly timed challenge onboard 18/1 outsider Raffle Prize in the Queen Mary Stakes to win by a head in the opening race of the day.
Today he began by guiding 5-to-1 chance A'Ali to victory in the Norfolk Stakes, beating Ventura Rebel by a neck.
He then won the Hampton Court Stakes on the 13/2 Sangarius, and followed that up in the Ribblesdale Stakes with Star Catcher at 4/1. Dettori's mount, trained by John Gosden, was very keen in the early stages and came home at odds far shorter than had been seen earlier this morning.
That was the 65th win of his career at the Berkshire course - but he wasn't finished yet.
He came home amidst jubilant scenes on the evens favourite Stradivarius to clinch the seventh Gold Cup of his career at twenty past four this afternoon. The 7/2 shot Dee Ex Bee came in second, with Master of Reality home in third at 66s.
In winning, Stradivarius becomes the first horse to win back-to-back Gold Cups at Royal Ascot since Yeats won four in a row between 2006 and 2009. The son of Sea of Stars has already won the Queens Vase at the Royal meeting.
The horse had a perfect 2018 - winning the Yorkshire Cup, the Gold Cup, the Goodwood Cup and the Lonsdale Cup to land a £1 million bonus through the inaugural Weatherbys Hamilton Stayers’ Million.
