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Port Fairy put in a remarkable effort to secure Aidan O’Brien's fifth win in the Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Aidan O'Brien had previously achieved victory with Bracelet (2014), Even Song (2016), Magic Wand (2018), and Warm Heart (2023). This year, O’Brien had two contenders, with jockey Ryan Moore choosing to ride Port Fairy over her stablemate Rubies Are Red.
After a win at Dundalk and a close finish in the Cheshire Oaks, Port Fairy, equipped with a visor, tracked the pacesetter You Got To Me over the mile and a half journey.
Passing the two-furlong marker, Port Fairy moved towards the front. Though briefly overtaken by Lava Stream, Port Fairy made a strong comeback and clinched the Gr.2 honours by a neck under Ryan Moore's powerful drive. Kalpana, finished third.
O’Brien said: “We just thought Epsom was going to come too quick for her [after she finished second in the Cheshire Oaks] so we gave her a bit of time.
“Ryan said maybe try a visor on her at home before coming here, so we put a visor on her the last day, and her work really stepped up.
“She looks like she’d be a lovely Irish Oaks filly now as she stays well. And Ryan was brilliant on her – he didn’t panic even when the second went by. It was class.
He went on: “Ryan knew the horse that made the running in Lingfield (You Got To Me) could be dangerous and he was keeping his eye on her, he was class.
“Anna (O’Brien’s daughter) bred the horse and done everything with her. She stays well, she is tough. If a filly gets a mile and a half, it’s a long way and she is brave isn’t she? She’s tough and hardy. ”
Moore said: “It was a good fight. Port Fairy has improved a lot this year. She wouldn't show you a great deal in the mornings, as she is a very relaxed horse. I had a nice run round. She's straightforward, very uncomplicated, and she really tried hard."
David O’Meara said of Lava Stream: “I was delighted with that. She travelled so nice. Danny thought that maybe she idled a touch. He might have preferred to have had the winner in his sights rather than arriving there as soon as he did, but we were surprised at how well she travelled. She is a very exciting filly.”
On future plans, O’Meara said: “I don’t know. I wasn’t sure about the mile and a half, so there was an option of dropping back to the Nassau, but she’s seen that out well, so it looks like a mile and a half will be perfect for her. We always hoped that she was capable of winning a Black Type race, but she’s probably exceeding our expectations.”
Oisin Murphy said of Kalpana: “Kalpana ran another career best. She got the mile and a half well. It was a good, even tempo – a proper stamina test. Well done to Ryan and the Ballydoyle team.”
1st- Port Fairy (Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Sue Magnier & Westerberg) Aidan O’Brien / Ryan Moore
2nd- Lava Stream (Elwick Stud) David O’Meara/ Daniel Tudhope
3rd- Kalpana (Juddmonte) Andrew Balding/ Oisin Murphy