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Order of merit: from Scat Daddy to the mother of all races

Scat Daddy: sire of Caravaggio
Scat Daddy: sire of CaravaggioCredit: Matt Wooley

David Jennings assesses those who excelled, those who performed with credit and those who would have wished for better at the royal meeting

First carriage

Scat Daddy
Who's the daddy? Scat was most definitely the daddy last week. His reputation as a sire soared after Caravaggio (Commonwealth Cup), Lady Aurelia (King's Stand), Sioux Nation (Norfolk) and Con Te Partiro (Sandringham) all scored in style. He may have not been a sensation on the track, winning five of his nine starts, but he become the most fantastic father and even John Magnier was singing his praises after Caravaggio ensured his form figures as a sire at Royal Ascot read 141681131113001. Magnier said: "We were unlucky to lose Scat Daddy a few years ago. Hopefully, Caravaggio will take his place. He is unbeaten so far, so fingers crossed. He is a better racehorse than Scat Daddy and it is a cross that we need."

Oli Bell
Is there a woman out there who doesn't fancy Oli Bell? The ITV presenter can now add the Queen to his endless list of admirers after the pair enjoyed a prolonged chat in the Royal Ascot parade ring on Friday afternoon. It sugarcoated a wonderful week for the young presenter who has become the star striker on the ITV racing team. From his spontaneous sprint to try to catch Big Orange after his Gold Cup triumph, to interviewing women drinking champagne at half past ten in the morning, Bell seems comfortable in every single position on the field.

Aidan O'Brien
Yet again he got the best out of his team on the biggest stage of all. Thirty-six runners, six winners, six seconds, four thirds. An astonishing 44 per cent of his runners finished in the frame. If you had told him this time last week that Churchill and Order Of St George would both be beaten, he might have wondered whether he would get among the winners at all. But they were rare blips in another brilliant week for the master of Ballydoyle.

Commonwealth Cup
Expectations could not have been higher. The three-way tussle was all anyone could talk about. Everyone seemed to have an opinion. But seldom does reality exceed such high expectations. It did in the Commonwealth Cup. Harry Angel exploded from the gates and used his scorching speed to best effect. Blue Point travelled with his usual fluency and was still on the bridle two out. But the Godolphin pair were swamped by Caravaggio, who painted Royal Ascot navy with a sixth win on the trot. It was a showdown that will be remember for years to come.

Second carriage

Godolphin
The town was painted blue on Tuesday and six winners in five days made it a good week for Godolphin. Royal Ascot was either going to come at the worst possible time or the best possible time for Sheikh Mohammed's operation. No winners and the John Ferguson saga would have rumbled on but, after Ribchester roasted his rivals in the Queen Anne, the pressure was off. They now have the best miler in the world, the best three-year-old miler around in Barney Roy and, with Sound Of Silence leading home Roussel in the Windsor Castle, they have a pair of proper sprinters to look forward to next year. Atty Persse (King George V), Benbatl (Hampton Court) and Rare Rhythm (Duke of Edinburgh) completed the six-timer.

Never in doubt chaps: a relaxed Ryan Moore reects on Caravaggio’s Commonwealth Cup victory with Tom (left) and MV Magnier
Never in doubt chaps: a relaxed Ryan Moore reects on Caravaggio’s Commonwealth Cup victory with Tom (left) and MV MagnierCredit: Edward Whitaker

Ryan Moore
Tremendous on Thomas Hobson, cool on Caravaggio, stunning on September and Sioux Nation, and hard as nails on Highland Reel, Moore was once again the top jock at Royal Ascot. He would probably love to have another go at getting Order Of St George up in the Gold Cup and might have sat closer on Churchill, but he did a lot more right than he did wrong. We saw a different side to him in the stewards' room after the Diamond Jubilee too, where he gave a refreshingly honest view of what happened to him on Limato, stressing that he was going to be only third anyway whether there was interference or not. Now that's what you call a gracious loser.

Rupert Bell
A different carriage, a different Bell. Daddy Bell might not be in the spotlight as much as his son these days, but his talkSPORT commentary on the Gold Cup even brought a smile to those who lumped on Order Of St George. “Come on Big Orange!” roared Bell snr halfway inside the final furlong as diplomacy went out the window of the commentary. “I think he's done it. Yes! You beauty!” he yelled crossing the line. Emotions are hidden all too often in racing so it was refreshing to hear him tell us exactly how he felt in that epic final furlong of the Gold Cup.

Warriors
Big Orange and Highland Reel. Both were beaten but bluntly refused to accept defeat. There was just no getting by either. To win a Gold Cup you need a concoction of class and courage and Big Orange possesses both of those attributes in equal measure. Highland Reel touched 37-1 in-running on the exchanges. Oh ye of little faith. 'Braveheart', as my colleague Tom Kerr has christened him, is Coolmore's very own ATM and has now earned almost £6 million in prize-money.

Third carriage

Grooms
ITV did its reputation no harm whatsoever this week and the decision to give grooms some of the spotlight was a masterstroke. Who can forget Taffy's tear after Big Orange tenaciously fended off Order Of St George or Rachel Robbins after Thomas Hobson landed the Ascot Stakes. It means more to them than anyone and it was a treat to see their raw emotion in the heat of battle.

Unlucky losers
Spare a thought for Santry and all those who beat their own group but were foiled by the other side. Declan Carroll's horse comfortably won his race in the Norfolk but Sioux Nation spoiled the party from stall two. The Roger Charlton-trained Projection suffered a similar fate in the Wokingham, as did Indian Dandy in the Britannia.

The Wizard and the Lady: Wesley Ward and Lady Aurelia after victory in Tuesday's King 's Stand Stakes
The Wizard and the Lady: Wesley Ward and Lady Aurelia after victory in Tuesday's King 's Stand StakesCredit: Caroline Norris

Wesley Ward
The America magician pulled another rabbit out of the hat on Wednesday as Con Te Partiro swooped late in the Sandringham, over a few furlongs further than most of his string are used to. Lady Aurelia scorched the turf at Royal Ascot once again, this time in the King's Stand, as Ward ended the week with two winners. Happy Like A Fool lost little caste in defeat in the Queen Mary either. Ward, as we all now know, is a wizard.

Farriers
How hard can it be to put on a pair of shoes? Very, in fact, when it comes to horses. We got up close and personal with the course farrier before the Jersey Stakes as the ITV cameras got great shots of him popping a new shoe on to Glastonbury Song. Fascinating stuff. A hammer, nails and a rasp for levering was all he needed and it took only a matter of minutes. It takes me longer to put on my football boots before a match.

Fourth carriage

Jessica Harrington
There was no room for another chapter of the 2017 fairytale. A Cheltenham Gold Cup, a Punchestown Gold Cup and an Irish Grand National were all squeezed into the first six months of the year, but there was no space for a first Royal Ascot winner. The giant filly Alpha Centauri went close in the Albany and Brother Bear was competitive in the Coventry, but Harrington's wait for a royal winner rumbles on.

Jack Hobbs
Predicting what you're going to get from Jack Hobbs is becoming impossible. Sent off a strongly supported favourite for the Prince of Wales's Stakes, he found nothing for pressure and trailed home last of the eight runners. Maybe it was the ground, or perhaps the trip, but excuses are wearing thin.

Sir Michael Stoute
The Newmarket legend had seven runners start at 5-1 or shorter yet could not manage that 76th Royal Ascot winner that would have nudged him to the top of the all-time trainer list. It was a first blank since 2011, with 2-1 favourite Mori's neck defeat in the Ribblesdale probably the most frustrating reverse.

ASCOT, ENGLAND - JUNE 22:  Winning jockey James Doyle and Big Orange celebrates after winning the Gold Cup on Day Three of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse on June 22, 2017 in Ascot, England.  (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Oli Bell wears a huge grin as he greets his uncle's Gold Cup hero Big OrangeCredit: Mike Hewitt

Stayers
Big Orange and Order Of St George might have served up a thriller in the Gold Cup but there were six lengths back to the third and if truth be told it was an ordinary event when you took those two out of it. Where have all the stayers gone? There is a serious lack of top-class performers around at the moment.

Published on 25 June 2017inBritain

Last updated 19:17, 26 June 2017

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