The second day of Royal Ascot’s 5 day meeting was brought to life by Aidan O’Brien’s globetrotting star Highland Reel who won the Group 1 Prince Of Wales’s Stakes with a tenacious display.

As tough as nails, Highland Reel sat just off the pace for most of the race but at the two furlong pole where the race turned into a battle. But a battle is never something Highland Reel shirks and he ground his opponents down over the last furlong to draw a length and a quarter clear at the line. The favourite Jack Hobbs faded rapidly after looking as though he was going to mount aserious challenging, finishing last of the eight runners in the end.

Highland Reel is a multiple Group 1 winner in various parts of the world having won at the top level in the UK, the United States and Hong Kong. He’ll be remembered in Australia for his third place behind Winx in the 2015 Cox Plate.

The win was Aidan O’Brien’s 56th Royal ascot success and he was quick to pay tribute to the horse after the race. “He’s passed every test you would want a thoroughbred to go through, from the time he was two. He has turned up in big races and we’ve travelled everywhere with him. He’s an amazing horse.”

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