Minding claims fifth Group One of the season at Ascot

Minding showed the boys a clean pair of heels to notch another Group One triumph in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot.

On the go all season, Aidan O’Brien’s brilliant filly already had the 1000 Guineas, Oaks and Nassau Stakes in the bag and had run well in the Irish Champion Stakes behind Almanzor and Found.

Dropped back to a mile for the first time since her surprise reverse in the Irish Guineas, she was not inconvenienced in the slightest, travelling strongly throughout for Ryan Moore.

Jet Setting led the group on the near side with Galileo Gold racing keenly behind her, while on the far side Barchan, making the pace for Ribchester, was giving the perfect lead to Minding with Ribchester behind her.

Approaching the final furlong Moore kicked clear and gained a decisive two-length advantage, which his mount needed in the end as several closed her down.

Ribchester made good late gains to close to within half a length of the 7-4 favourite, with a further length back to Lightning Spear.

Moore, bagging the first Champions Day meeting success of his career, said: “Really delighted with her today. She’s had a hard season and to bring her back to a mile is some achievement really.

“She was too good for them, too strong. She has lots of pace and masses of talent.”

Minding is the first of her sex to win the race since Milligram in 1987 and few can have been as tough as the daughter of Galileo, having danced every dance in Group One races over distances ranging from a mile to a mile and a half.

The statistic about Moore never having won a race on Britain’s richest raceday in its five-year existence can finally be put to bed.

In addition, Minding was winning her seventh top-level contest in an incredible career and it was O’Brien’s 21st Group One of the season in pursuit of the late Bobby Frankel’s record of 25.

O’Brien said: “It’s unbelievable, she’s an incredible filly.

“The last day she worked, Séamus (Heffernan) got off her and we couldn’t believe it. It’s a big team effort, as you can imagine.

“I can’t say how delighted I am for everybody but she’s an incredible filly – a mile, a mile and a half then bring her back to a mile in an all-aged Group One against the boys, they have to be special to do those things.

“I’d imagine that would be it for this year and the lads have talked about bringing her back next year, hopefully.

“To stay a mile and a half and then do that over a mile, they have to be very special.”

O’Brien added: “We were always happy enough but we were a bit concerned we might have to make the running.

“She got left in the lead a little bit earlier than he wanted and ideally we’d have taken a bit more of a lead into the race. To beat the colts is unbelievable.”

Co-owner Michael Tabor said: “She’s just a super special filly, it’s absolute euphoria. Aidan has kept her going all year which is an incredible piece of training.

“To keep her going from winning the Guineas to winning all the races in between is something special.”

Richard Fahey said of Ribchester: “Maybe he over-raced a little bit, he’s a horse with a high cruising speed and they can’t go quick enough early on.

“I’ve huge admiration for the winner, she’s an amazing filly.”

David Simcock said of the third: “I’m delighted with that, it was a career best.

“He quickened well to make the ground up and probably in hindsight he’d have been better racing on the other side, but I’m very proud.”

The Ballydoyle team had to second for the runner-up spot as Almanzor, trained by Jean-Claude Rouget and ridden by Christophe Soumillon, won the Qipco Champion Stakes.

Almanzor is due to stay in training next season which gives everyone something to look forward to.

It has been an incredible season for Rouget, who has cleaned up in his homeland but was dealt a blow when his French Guineas and Oaks winner La Cressonniere was ruled out of the Arc.

It was suggested by some that Almanzor would be rerouted from Ascot to Chantilly to replace her but Rouget stuck to his original plan and was repaid in kind, and those present at Ascot were glad he did.

Rouget said: “He’s a champion, he did the same performance as in Leopardstown. He had the time, five weeks between the two races, which was perfect.

“He beat Found a little further today because I think she felt the Arc in her legs, just 13 days ago, but still she’s a champion, too. With him, Found, Minding – it really is Champions Day.

“I wanted to keep him at this distance, we keep him next year and we’ll see if he goes to the Arc then. He’ll have a good rest in the winter and we’ll see where we go in the spring.

“He was quite backward at two, he didn’t show he was a Group horse but he improved from race to race, with each race he got better.

“He wasn’t better today than five weeks ago, he was just doing his job.”