'It was such a gamble bringing her over, but we've more than paid our way' - Aussie ace Asfoora strikes in King Charles III Stakes

Henry Dwyer might be a master in self-deprecation but he earned every plaudit thrown in his direction after masterminding the latest victory for an Australian sprinter at Royal Ascot courtesy of Asfoora in the Group 1 King Charles III Stakes.

But as keen as Dwyer was to insist both he and Asfoora did not belong in the same company as those who have come from the other side of the world to conquer Ascot in the past, no-one could possibly fault the meticulous planning that went into Australia's sixth winner of the King Charles III.

Asfoora has been based at Amy Murphy's yard in Newmarket since the end of April, blew the cobwebs away with a fourth-place finish in the Temple Stakes at Haydock last month and was produced at her peak to conquer the fastest horses in Europe.

She had to come from behind two Group 1 winners in Big Evs and Regional, but her change of gear was more than either could live with as she registered her first victory at the highest level.

"It's very hard to find these sorts of horses when you've only got 40 in work and we don't expect it," said Dwyer, who operates on a modest scale from Ballarat in Victoria. "It's an absolute luxury to have a mare like this and for [winning owner] Akram El-Fahkri to entrust me to train her.

"It was such a gamble bringing her over; it's such an expensive trip and Akram is paying up for it alone but we've more than paid our way today."

Asfoora, jockey Oisin Murphy, groom Chenelle Ellis and trainer Henry Dwyer (right)Credit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Twice a winner of Group 2s at Caulfield, Asfoora has gone close at the highest level on home turf on two occasions, most notably when chasing home the world's highest-rated sprinter Imperatriz in the Moir Stakes at Moonee Valley in September.

However, Dwyer always felt Europe would be her best chance of triumphing at the highest level and the trip to Britain has been years in the making.

"This time last year – or probably two years ago – I thought we were restricted in Australia and we need a few options over here," the trainer revealed. "We took her to Perth last year for an iconic Australian race called the Quokka. It was more for the travel with a view to coming over here and she coped with it great. That was the making of her and here we are."

Choisir was the first to win the race for Australia in 2003, since when Takeover Target (2006), Miss Andretti (2007), Scenic Blast (2009) and Nature Strip (2022) have all been successful but giving Asfoora time to acclimatise to conditions in the northern hemisphere, rather than running almost directly from the plane, was a new tactic deployed by Dwyer and one which paid dividends.

"We needed a lead-up run at Haydock, so we were always going to come early, but just with the changing of seasons we wanted to be here before it was too cold in Australia and too warm here," he added. "We came over in the nice interchange period and she settled in brilliantly. The proof of that was in the pudding today.

"Those who have done it before have all trained 150 Group 1 winners whereas that's only my third but it's sublime and to do it here and at Royal Ascot is just brilliant."

Having fully acclimatised to her new surroundings, Asfoora will remain in Newmarket with the King George Stakes at Goodwood and the Nunthorpe at York on her agenda.

"I've got to have a look at the race conditions again but we'd love to showcase her a bit," said Dwyer. "Everyone has just been so good to us over here and I'd love to send her down to Goodwood and up to York, but we'll put the horse first."

In a race where the cream rose to the top, last year's Sprint Cup winner Regional closed to within a length of the winner at the line to finish second, while Breeders' Cup hero Big Evs was a further half a length away in third.

"I've got mixed emotions," said Regional's trainer Ed Bethell. "Another half a furlong and we might have got there but that's horseracing. We can be nothing but proud of our horse."

Mick Appleby, trainer of Big Evs, added: "We'll possibly go back to Goodwood with him then hopefully back to the Breeders' Cup. He's rapid and he's only going to improve with age."

Read these next:

80-1 Rashabar triumphs in photo finish to provide Billy Loughnane with a first Royal Ascot winner 

'Sometimes I have to pinch myself' - Charyn surges home under Silvestre de Sousa to land Queen Anne at Royal Ascot 

'He's never let me down' - Rosallion and Sean Levey roar home to run down Henry Longfellow in St James's Palace Stakes 

Looking for free bets? Racing Post have got the best offers, all in one place. Visit racingpost.com/freebets to find out more.