Crimson Advocate flies the flag for America in the Queen Mary.
A field of 26 juvenile fillies went to post for the five-furlong opener on day two and the George Weaver-trained Crimson Advocate made a rapid start in the hands of his Hall of Fame pilot.
The 9-1 shot, a winner at Gulfstream Park in Florida last month,
led her rivals a merry dance for much of the way and it was just a question of whether she would hold on racing inside the final furlong.
Relief Rally, unbeaten in two previous starts for William Haggas, came at the leader hard as the post loomed and was in front just before and just after the line – but the judge confirmed Crimson Advocate was a nose in front where it mattered. Beautiful Diamond, the 11-4 favourite, finished third.
Kentucky-born Weaver had saddled just one previous runner at the Royal meeting, with the Velazquez-ridden Cyclogenisis finishing down the field in the 2015 Commonwealth Cup. He was quick to pay tribute to his wife, Cindy, who was badly injured in a riding accident at Saratoga in July last year.
Weaver said: “My wife is a tremendous horsewoman, she knows more about horses than I’ll ever know.
“She took a fall, she had a dramatic brain injury and it was a very scary time, it’s been a tough year for all of us. It’s a miracle. It’s almost a year ago it happened. At some points we didn’t know if she’d live or have any quality of life. This is her first trip away from home since.”
Weaver admitted that while he had high hopes for Crimson Advocate, he was not certain she could make her mark.
He said: “You come to a new country, a strange place – I have so much respect for the horses over here. It always seems like the European horses are better grass horses than what we have over there, but I knew our filly was very talented and I was hoping that she would be able to get the job done.
“Don’t get me wrong, the way she won at Gulfstream, I was very excited about her, but like I said, I have tremendous respect for the trainers and horses that are over here.
“I came here eight years ago with a horse that wasn’t good enough. I thought it would be great if I could ever come back with something that was, and we did.”
Weaver has another live chance with No Nay Mets in Thursday’s Norfolk Stakes and added: “When you try to plan things, you try to buy horses for Ascot, it never works out. It’s just – things come together, and this year we’ve got two nice horses to bring over here.
“Royal Ascot is Royal Ascot, what can you say? You can feel the electricity when you’re here and how special it is, and it’s a beautiful feather for us to have in our cap."