Royal Ascot 2026: Victorious fastest of all in the Queen Mary

Victorious (10/3F) might only have sight in one eye but that did not stop the daughter of Wootton Bassett as she displayed great acceleration to win the G2 Queen Mary Stakes.

Settled in rear of the smaller group that raced towards the far side, Ryan Moore allowed the action to unfold in front of him.

Just as he had done yesterday over the same five-furlong distance on Mission Control.

Moore switched his mount left entering the final two furlongs.

After which Victorious unleashed a sustained run to wear down Senorita Bonita (8/1) and win going away by two lengths.

US raider Ruiva (11/1) fared best of those on the stands’ side, a nose further back.

Victorious is now unbeaten in three starts for Aidan O’Brien, having landed a pair of six-furlong contests at Naas.

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O’Brien said: “Victorious is very classy.

“She only has sight in one eye, so we were a little worried about where she was drawn [5] over there, but Ryan was brilliant on her.

“He reassured her and let her find her way through.

“He got a little group to follow and then took her to the outside.

“We had her and the filly that’s in the Albany [Sun Goddess] and we tried to split them.

“Everyone thought this filly might be OK over five furlongs, but she is ideally suited by six and even further.

“I am delighted for everyone who puts so much into it. It’s a big team.

“Yvonne, who rides her every day, and Rachel, who rides her in her work, do a great job.

“They are the ones who deal with her every day, nourish her and reassure her.

“She came from Coolmore and I think she lost her sight through a cataract or something when she was a foal or a yearling.

“She has a lot of quality and it’s very hard to beat quality.”

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One-eyed wonder

Moore said: “Victorious is a gorgeous filly, and we think the world of her.

“She has a lot of talent. She is blind in her left eye, so she can’t see anything on that side.

“Victorious is just a sweetheart. She has always shown plenty and is a very natural filly, with a lot of pace and loads of quality.

“She is so straightforward, an absolute peak professional.”

Exciting future

Simon Crisford said of the runner-up Senorita Bonita: “We have done everything right and she has stepped forward from her debut run at Nottingham.

“We could not be more pleased with her. I do think she has got the right temperament to keep going forward.

“She is not going to be just a two-year-old and we have a lot to look forward to going forward.

“I think for her next race, we will probably stick to five furlongs.

“There is the Molecomb at Goodwood and races like that to consider. We will just see how we go.

“We have just bumped into a filly that was better than her on the day.

“But we will take that one on again over five furlongs when we can.”

American dream

Wesley Ward, trainer of Ruiva, said: “She is a beautiful filly.

“She is a hard trier, extremely talented, and she is going to have a big future.

“That is a very good horse that beat us, we cannot take anything away from her.

“She had two runs and we had one, so I think we are going to move forward as well from this.

“We are excited to have such a high-quality filly here in such a prestigious race.”

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