Ballydoyle gladiator Circus Maximus edges out Terebellum in Group 1 thriller

If ever there was a race that deserved an audience, it was this one.

Through the final furlong of the royal meeting's opening Group 1, Ryan Moore and Frankie Dettori, two masters of their craft, fought out the most furious behind-closed-doors finish on courageous horses representing the sport's two most powerful owners.

Circus Maximus and Terebellum gave their absolute all. Circus Maximus won. So did this extraordinary Royal Ascot.

In normal circumstances the Coolmore 'lads' with their Coolmore lasses would have been here, filling the winner's circle, while Sheikh Mohammed and his huge entourage watched on from the spot reserved for the second. None of them were here because none of them were allowed to be here. Also absent through circumstances was Aidan O'Brien, yet all this victory needed was a horse and jockey who could have been born for each other.

Watch Circus Maximus fight out a thrilling finish to the Queen Anne

For like Moore, Circus Maximus does not know how to lie down. He showed that here 12 months ago when grinding out St James's Palace Stakes success just 17 days after finishing sixth in the Derby. What that day and subsequent days have told us is that the 2019 Prix du Moulin winner is a miler – and a very good miler he is, too.

Circus Maximus and Terebellum fight out the finish in the Queen Anne at Royal AscotCredit: Edward Whitaker

"I think he is probably an underestimated horse," said O'Brien from Ballydoyle. You can guarantee Dettori underestimated him neither before nor after the race.

Not since 2012 had he enjoyed Royal Ascot success for Godolphin. Having tracked Circus Maximus from the moment the stalls opened, Terebellum looked to have his measure when grabbing the lead just over a furlong from home. Circus Maximus grabbed it back in the nick of time, scoring by a head, with Marie's Diamond a further three lengths back in third.

"That's him exactly," said O'Brien. "He's like a fighter. If he doesn't get his blood up then he doesn't perform. He can be quite lazy so he needs the fast tempo of a mile. He loves getting eyeballed. He's a very good horse.

"He is very tough, he travels, quickens and then toughs it out. He is unbelievable really. Really, he is a trademark Galileo with loads of speed. His best form is over a mile, which makes him more valuable and interesting and important."

O'Brien identified the Qatar Sussex Stakes as the winner's likely next target, while John Gosden has a host of options for Terebellum, who came to Ascot having won the Dahlia Stakes over ten furlongs only ten days earlier.

"She ran a great race," said Gosden. "They didn’t go any pace, which probably played against her as she gets a mile and a quarter. She hit the front and the other one just came back on the run to the line under a rousing ride."

Circus Maximus and Terebellum scrap it out through the closing stages of the Queen Anne StakesCredit: Edward Whitaker

Very much roused was Eve Johnson Houghton. Her family pet Accidental Agent sprang a 33-1 shock two years ago. Last year he refused to start. This year he ran a cracker to finish fifth.

"I'm really thrilled," she said. "I think he possibly blew up – if he hadn't he would have been third. He definitely has another Group race in him, maybe a Group 2 or 3, but what he really loves is a fast gallop, which he didn't get here."

Nor did he get to see many people, including O'Brien, who instead enjoyed it all on television.

"Ascot is usually a busy week for us as we go there and back, so it's brilliant to be able to see all the preliminaries and hear everything that everyone has to say," he said. "We have a great team of people over there. We couldn't be happier really. We're very lucky to have so many special people."

In Circus Maximus, he also has a special horse.

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