'He’s unbelievable, isn’t he? He just finds a way' - Buick's 'friend' Rebel's Romance wins emotional Hardwicke

On a day where many of the big prizes are awarded to the swift, Rebel's Romance stood out as a shining example of the sure. 

For his trainer Charlie Appleby this Royal Ascot week must have seemed a very long one until the point when his globetrotting champion stepped into the ring and stamped his authority over the Hardwicke Stakes, by far the most important victory on home soil for a horse who has won seven Group or Grade 1 prizes across the United States, Dubai, Hong Kong and Germany. 

For Appleby to be able to join the party after John Gosden and Saeed bin Suroor had contributed three wins to the Godolphin column for the week was undoubtedly a huge relief for the master of Moulton Paddocks, whose last royal meeting winner was this day three years ago.

"If there’s one horse you’d want to be rolling your last dice or in a poker game, it’s him," said Appleby. "You had confidence that, win, lose or draw, he would go out on his sword for you.

"It’s been a week. You can come here thinking you’re fully loaded and with chances and you can walk away with excuses. But that’s racing."

William Buick probably found himself with little choice but to go for home turning in after the front-running Space Legend weakened and he chose to engage early with Sunway rather than sit and wait for the closers 

"This horse, with his heart and his enthusiasm, I said to William ‘try and make that move a bit earlier’ because he’s renowned, when something comes for him he finds. Frankly, they didn’t get close enough for him to really have to dig deep. 

"We saw it at York. It’s very rare that when a horse goes into the red, he still goes. At York the tank was empty but he still never gave up."

Buick has travelled the globe with Rebel's Romance and while his international fan club gets plenty of chance to appreciate the seven-year-old, connections were keen to give him a chance to land a decent domestic prize in front of a big home crowd. 

Buick said of Rebel's Romance: "He’s unbelievable, isn’t he? He just finds a way. He always turns up and I’m just delighted that he could run in this country, at Royal Ascot, and do it in front of everyone here. It means a lot."

Buick and Appleby have a close and hugely successful professional relationship and the rider said that, ahead of the rides on both beaten Chesham favourite Treanmor and then Rebel's Romance, he felt extra-motivated to deliver for his "friend".  

Charlie Appleby and William Buick embrace after Rebel's Romance wins the HardwickeCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

"It’s hugely important and I did feel the pinch a little bit today to get the job done," said Buick. "It was very important but what a horse to go out and do it."

Al Riffa and recent Amo Racing purchase Ghostwriter came out of the pack to challenge but once he had the break on the field, it would have taken something special to deny Rebel's Romance.

Returning to a mile and a half for the first time since last season's Arc, Al Riffa put in his usual high standard of performance in second.

"He's a beautiful horse and he always runs to a rating not too far off 120," said Joseph O'Brien. "He's a multiple Group 1 winner and we're unlucky to meet a proper champion as Rebel's Romance has been one of the best horses in the world for the last couple of years."

At the start of the week Amo Racing paid £2 million at the Goffs London Sale for Ghostwriter, whose last try at this trip was even further back in last year's Derby.

"He's definitely not disappointed because that's probably one of his best runs ever," said Amo principal Kia Joorabchian. "Clearly, he's got a strong heart and I think he's going to give us a lot of fun. He likes this ground, so probably somewhere like America or Australia he'd relish."

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