Willie Mullins ends Royal Ascot with a winner as Stratum lands Queen Alexandra

Saturday: Royal Ascot

Willie Mullins had the final say on a memorable Royal Ascot week as Stratum produced a strong performance to strike in the Queen Alexandra Stakes for a second successive year.

Ridden by William Buick, who landed his fifth winner of the week and a second of the day, the Tony Bloom-owned nine-year-old finished a length clear of Reshoun in second.

After dry conditions throughout the meeting, the rain arrived for the final race of the week, but it did not dampen spirits for Mullins as he added to his seven other Royal Ascot winners.

"It was a terrific ride from William and I said before the race to aim for sixth place and into the prize-money before working our way up," said Mullins.

"I said to him to wait as long as you can and he had a nice pocket before the turn for home. He was weaved through and the horse loves to be ridden like that."

Buick, who fell short behind Ryan Moore as Royal Ascot top jockey, finished his five days off in style and was thrilled to secure a first victory for Mullins.

"It's the last race and it's been a fantastic meeting with a great vibe all week, so to come away with five winners is incredible," he said.

"Most of the races went well and obviously there are some you look back on, but it was a great week. I think it was my first win in this race and my first winner for Willie, so it means an awful lot."

Joy for Boughey

George Boughey completed a dream week as he secured a second winner at Royal Ascot thanks to a powerful display from Missed The Cut in the Golden Gates Stakes.

Ridden by James McDonald, the Ed Babington-owned three-year-old landed a hat-trick of wins in the process when justifying favouritism to finish four-and-a-quarter lengths clear of Asgoodassobergets.

A son of four-time Grade 1 winner Quality Road, Missed The Cut joined Buckingham Palace Stakes star Inver Park on the list of winners for Boughey at the royal meeting.

The trainer said: "He has taken a massive step forward with his work and he has got the pedigree. He's owned by a fantastic man and he is a very special horse for the yard.

"He's the first horse that's walked in with a pedigree like that, and the physicality to back it up, and his work has suggested that he is pretty smart. For someone like James McDonald to say that he is pretty good is great and it means the world."

The winning jockey, who scored his third victory of the week after success with Nature Strip in the King's Stand Stakes and Dark Shift in the Royal Hunt Cup, said: "I'm just lucky to be here first and foremost. It was great to have a ride on him and it was pretty self explanatory, he's a very good horse."

The Golden Gates was a thrilling last leg for some Placepot punters, with a record Royal Ascot dividend paying £79,125.50 to the £1.

Results, replays and analysis

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