Circus Maximus got the better of Terebellum in a pulsating climax to the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot. Winner of the St James’s Palace Stakes 12 months ago, the Aidan O’Brien-trained Circus Maximus went on to suffer a narrow defeat at the hands of Too Darn Hot in the Sussex Stakes before landing the Prix du Moulin and finishing fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Mile.
The four-year-old was the 4-1 favourite to double his Royal Ascot tally, just ahead of John Gosden’s recent Newmarket-winning filly Terebellum and the big two fought out a thrilling finish.
There was little to choose between the pair entering the final furlong and no quarter was given by either horse, with Ryan Moore aboard Circus Maximus and Frankie Dettori on Terebellum both in full flight. As the line loomed, Circus Maximus just began to get the better of the argument and was a head in front where it mattered. Marie’s Diamond was three lengths away in third.
Earlier, Motakhayyel finished with a flourish to claim top honours in the Buckingham Palace Handicap as the meeting got under way behind closed doors. The Richard Hannon-trained colt won his only juvenile start in 2018 and hit the mark twice from four starts at three, but disappointed on his most recent appearance at this venue last July.
Hannon said: “I’m going to be famous for being the first train a Royal Ascot winner behind closed doors, but that doesn’t matter one bit. I think the racecourse has done a fantastic job in holding the meeting and we have to be extremely grateful and thankful for that.
“I think without this there wouldn’t have been much to look forward to in a fairly gloomy period. Those watching on television will be delighted to see this back again.
“The fact there isn’t 60,000 people here is a massive difference. Maybe there are more at home watching on television than there has been before. Maybe there is more people paying attention than if they were here having a lovely time.
“It is fantastic. What has been a gloomy few months it looks like sport is coming back in the right way and racing is adapting and we are showing we can adapt to new regulations and it is great.”
On plans for the winner, Hannon said: “That gallop at Kempton would have helped big time as he is a massive horse and he would have needed that, as it is his first run of the year. Ours need it, especially when they get to the age of this horse.
“We could go to the Bunbury Cup or Goodwood for what was the old Schweppes Mile that Beat Le Bon won last year. He might even be a Listed horse, but he didn’t move right at the end of last year and that is when we decided to pack him up and save him for this year.
“I put him in a race at Newmarket’s Guineas meeting. We agreed he was a big, heavy horse and if we went there we might risk the chance of him just being a bit sore to come here, so we decided to come straight here and it’s paid off.”