Perennial Royal Ascot champion Ryan Moore comes out on top as he scoops both feature races

Ryan Moore: was successful on Everlasting and Old Faithful at Navan

Ryan Moore: triumphant on James's Delight and Klondike Credit: Alan Crowhurst

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As if he needed a confidence-booster. Ryan Moore warmed up for his bid to be top jockey at Royal Ascot yet again with a feature race double.

He is a best-priced 4-7 to head the standings for the 11th time next week and showed he is in fine form with a confident ride to capture the £100,000 Churchill Tyres Supporting Macmillan Sprint Handicap, coming from last place to score on James's Delight for Clive Cox.

"He's an improving horse and the race worked out well for him," the jockey said. "It was a strongly run race and it unfolded nicely."

Moore won this three-year-old sprint two years ago on Harry Three for Cox, who said: "If we can join up for these occasions I'm very happy.

"It was a very confident ride from Ryan, as always, and I was thrilled with how James's Delight has done it. The way that he changed gear there today fills me full of excitement."

Cox was speaking from Sandown as he was unable to travel up to York after a busy morning with his Royal Ascot team, which James's Delight could now be a part of. He is now 12-1 (from 25) for the Wokingham Stakes next Saturday with Paddy Power.

"We'll see how he comes back before we think of the Wokingham, but winning today means he'll have a penalty and that will be on top of a mark of 102," Cox said. "But he's clearly a three-year-old going places."

The William Haggas-trained Klondike earned a guaranteed place in the Sky Bet Ebor with a battling victory under Moore in the Listed Grand Cup.

Another for Brotherton

Frankie Dettori may not be riding at Royal Ascot, but Serena Brotherton struck a blow for the over-50s by winning the prestigious Queen Mother's Cup for female amateur jockeys for the fourth time on Lord Melbourne.

The multiple former champion amateur has been riding for 30 years and first won this race in 1999, when her rivals included current trainers Amanda Perrett and Eve Johnson Houghton and Hamilton clerk of the course Carol Bartley.

She shrugged off thoughts of retirement and said: "I'm 53 but Joe Fanning and Frankie Dettori are still going, and when you have days like this of course you want to carry on!

"This means everything. It's so hard to ride a winner, let alone one here. I'm thrilled. To get the call up to ride one with a chance and then for it to come off is brilliant."

Brotherton won her weight in champagne and added: "This is my home track and it's wonderful. Winners make the world go round but this is a really special race. To be able to win it again is magic."

Serena Bortherton won her weight in champagne

Serena Brotherton won her weight in champagneCredit: David Carr

Double delight

Tolstoy achieved the rare feat of winning on successive days when he followed up Friday's apprentice race victory here by landing the 7f handicap under Ben Robinson.

Trainer Brian Ellison said: "He didn't have a penalty so we thought it was worth giving him another shot. Everything was fine this morning and he was a lot more settled in the paddock today. He was very game in the race."

Viking scores

The Strikin Viking, named after Manchester City star Erling Haaland, made an impressive winning debut in the two-year-old maiden.

He is seen as a potential Gimcrack Stakes hope by trainer Kevin Ryan, who said: "I thought he was a very good horse. You might see him back here in August but we’ll be doing something beforehand.”

'Lucky' Louis

Hartswood and event rider Louis Pern, 19, won the Macmillan Ride Of Their Lives, a charity race whose 12 participants raised more than £200,000 between them.

Each rider had spent the past six months training to be a jockey and Pern said: "It's been chaotic, it's been full on but it's worth it when you do this, and it's amazing to do it for such a great charity.

"Hartswood gave me a great ride, I was very lucky. He came round the bend and he was very much on the bridle, I really just had to sit there and let him do his thing. He's an old boy, he knows his job."

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