Leading Light wins Queen's Vase for the Queen – Horseracing News
Leading Light triumphed in the Queen's Vase (In Memory of Sir Henry Cecil) (Group 3) at the Royal Ascot.
The Queen’s stallion was rated as the favourite to succeed and there was simply no match for him in the race. He was pretty much in control of the proceedings from the start until the end. His stamina was really impressive and he proved that he could appear in races over two miles.
Although Leading Light won the race by one and a half length, his jockey Joseph O'Brien said that he was not so confident heading into the event. However, he was satisfied once he saw the solid start of his runner.
According to the seasoned rider, “I was a bit worried about the trip. He's very relaxed and has a great attitude, when you get stuck into him he fights. He's very idle and was always just doing enough. It's been a great week so far. He hadn't gone further than a mile and a quarter and Joseph wanted to be prominent but not commit too soon.”
Leading Light has been highly impressive in the ongoing season, as he has managed to win all the races he took part in. There was only one occasion when he failed to finish on top of the table and that was back in 2012 during his debut outing. Since then, he has been gaining confidence and has increased his tally of victories to four.
The winning trainer, Aidan O’Brien, was also pleased with the outcome of the Queen's Vase and was honoured to win a race, which was named after legendary trainer Sir Henry Cecil, who was considered to be the best of all time.
Paying tribute to the deceased trainer, O’Brien said, “When I started out we used to love going to the sales and getting cast offs, but the one trainer I could never improve a horse from was Sir Henry. He always got the absolute most from his horses.”
Although Sir Henry is no longer present in the main events at Ascot, his stallions are actively participating in the races and are winning for their new trainer Lady Cecil.
Tags: