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Luke Morris steered Pledgeofallegiance to victory in the Ascot Stakes, securing Sir Mark Prescott’s third victory at the Royal Meeting and his first since Pivotal triumphed in the 1996 King Charles III Stakes.
Maintaining a clear second position for a large portion of the two-and-a-half mile heritage handicap, Pledgeofallegiance took the lead as they turned into the straight and held off a persistent challenge from Divine Comedy, ridden by apprentice Kaiya Fraser, who finished half a length behind in second place. Divine Comedy was the second runner-up of the day for trainer Harry Eustace, who also saddled Docklands to fill the same position in the Queen Anne Stakes.
Kyle Of Lochalsh finished third, two and a half lengths behind, with Get Shirty securing the fourth position.
Prescott said: “Pledgeofallegiance is a very nice horse, very sensible. The only thing he’s ever done wrong in his life is cost all that money [450,000gns] as a yearling. Then the expectation is so high on him. If he couldn’t win the Derby, the next best thing was to win at Royal Ascot for them, so I’m very grateful he has. He is a big, lovely, staying horse, very genuine. He’s a thoroughly nice, straightforward horse. Trainers don’t have enough of them!
Morris said: “Pledgeofallegiance is incredibly brave and incredibly tough. He's been a real work in progress, but he's gradually got a bit better each run and it's thanks to the faith of connections that he's eventually come good because he started off life at a pretty lowly level.
“It has been eight years since I last had a winner here, and to ride a winner here for Sir Mark means a huge amount. We’ve only got a few bullets to fire during the week, so to get one of them to land is fabulous. It’s the best week of racing in the world, so to come here with a few live chances is fantastic, and for one of them to land is even better.”
WINNERS
1st Pledgeofallegiance - Owner: Victorious Racing- Trainer: Sir Mark Prescott
2nd Divine Comedy - Owner: The Equema Partnership- Trainer: Harry Eustace
3rd Kyle Of Lochalsh- Owner: The Fairy Story Partnership- Trainer: H Morrison