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Duke of Marmalade wins Prince of Wales's stakes

18/06/2008

Pre-race favourite Duke of Marmalade raced to a comfortable victory in the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot.

The four-year-old, being ridden by Johnny Murtagh had to bide his time to take the lead, as Red Rock Canyon, also trained by Aidan O'Brien, led the way for the first two furlongs.

However, just before the half-way stage, Murtagh steered Duke of Marmalade towards the centre of the course, a tactic that immediately paid off as his mount established an unassailable lead, eventually finishing four lengths ahead of the nearest challenger.

Speaking after the race, O'Brien stated: "He's an unbelievable horse. Every run he just gets better. He's the real deal."

This belief was clearly shared by thousands of punters both at Ascot and in Ireland who staged a massive last-minute gamble on the horse just prior to the showcase race starting.

Phoenix Tower finished in second, while third place went to Pipedreamer.

While Henry Cecil, the trainer of the runner-up said he was pleased with the result, he stated his belief that the best is yet to come from the horse.

The win comes as the third big race win for the Irish duo of Murtagh and O'Brien, having notably secured a victory with Henrythenavigator yesterday, while they are set to enter into Thursday's Gold Cup race with their horse Yeats favourite to take the title for the third year in a row.