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Connections of Tahiyra (8/13 F) were made to survive a scare in the steward’s room before being officially crowned a three-time Group 1 winner following her success in the Coronation Stakes on day four at Royal Ascot.
The Aga Khan-owned filly was completing a memorable Group 1 double following her victory in the Irish 1000 Guineas at the Curragh last month.
The race certainly lost plenty of zest on paper when Tahiyra's Newmarket conqueror, Mawj, was withdrawn yesterday afternoon but the seven remaining fillies still managed to produce a high-class show.
A red-hot Ryan Moore seized the early initiative on Aidan O'Brien's Meditate but turning for home Moore began to crouch lower in the saddle and it soon became apparent that she would once more likely be finishing behind Tahirya.
A confident-looking Chris Hayes swung widest of the seven rounding the bend and the pair soon cantered alongside longtime leader Meditate in familiar fashion.
The Irish 1000 Guineas winner quickened up smartly entering the final furlong and kept up the gallop to score by a comfortable length from Remarquee.
Ralph Beckett's filly was one of the fillies affected in behind and finished off her race well while Sounds Of Heaven stayed on nicely to take the third spot with Aidan O'Brien's Meditate fading out of contention back in fourth.
The stewards took a fairly lengthy look at the interference caused but Tahiyra was ultimately well on top at the line, and it was of little surprise to hear the placings remained unaltered.
Dermot Weld said: "I have been very fortunate. I've won many Group Ones around the world; I think this is my 18th Group race to win here at Royal Ascot. I have been very fortunate in life.
"I was a little bit concerned in the early part of the race, but Chris did the right thing to take her back. Plan B came into action, which was to take your time – it's a long straight at Ascot and she has brilliant speed, and that's what he did."
He went on to add: "I suppose she's learning more about racing, she's getting more professional. I thought she won fair and square.
She and her sister are different. Her sister was unbelievably tough, stayed really well, won the Breeders' Cup Turf and those two very good Group Ones in France for me. And she was beaten a neck in the Arc in ground that was just too dead for her on the day.
Her sister was a brilliant racemare and this one is equally good. They are different sorts, this one has more pace. I enjoy so much training these fillies, I know the families and do my best to train them."
On what the plan for this filly is now, he said: "I think the plan always was to give her a nice holiday, a nice break. She's had a very busy spring/early summer and she will have a nice break now and we will look at a programme for her in the autumn."
Asked whether the ground was a slight unknown before the race, he said: "I was happy, she's a light-actioned filly and I was pleased with her, she was doing everything right for me at home."
Hayes said: "Tahiyra loaded late into the stalls. She got a little agitated for a second and lost her hind-end on me. I wanted to be closer, but she was running keen because she half frightened herself.
I had to ride her nice and cool and get her to relax; it was a slow pace, and she did well considering she was running at a quickening pace [in the straight].
She had a little look at the stands for half a stride. I can't wait to ride this filly in a properly run mile race to really see what she's made of.
"The boss just filled me up with confidence. We had a good chat this morning after I walked the course, I told him what I thought might happen and what might not happen.
He said to me, 'just do what you always do'. So that was a nice little pat on the back going out and that just gave me the confidence to do the right thing by the filly and take her out of it.
"She slipped coming out the gates and I had to go to Plan B and forfeit my position early to Rob [Hornby on runner-up Remarquee], who was keen as well.
I knew this filly could over-race and that I could be there too soon. It wasn't going to be straightforward, and I just had to ride her like she was the best and the fastest in the field. Like I said, I can't wait to ride her in a truly run race."
Hayes added: "It's unbelievable. Every time I ride for Mr Weld, I just seem to land on my feet, because every year I've ridden for him, I had a Group One winner out of it – I've had two this year and two last year.
"To get a filly like her at any stage of your career is brilliant, but to think we are only half way through the season and the boss's horses always get better later on.
I don't know what her immediate plans would be, but she's a pleasure to have anything to do with. I just have to make sure I don't get suspended or injured because horses like her don't come round too often and I'll appreciate her now.
"This means a lot, because the way a lot of people were talking, I was the only chink in her armour. I wasn't a chink today anyway."
Ralph Beckett said of the runner-up Remarquee: "By the time she did get rolling the gap was closing. You don't see many of ours with a sheepskin nose band, and she wears it because she is still green.
She has not had that much racing. She has run her legs off today. It is a length [she lost], and she has run on again and made up a length in the last half furlong, at least! I am not disappointed with her in the slightest.
The Guineas was a non-event – she had only had two starts and is a slow learner! She will go for the Falmouth next, I think that will suit."
Rob Hornby added: "Remarquee has run a great race and it is nice that she has stepped up. She has put the run at Newmarket behind her. It probably came a little early in the season and after a hard run in the Fred Darling."
Sounds Of Heaven's jockey Ronan Whelan said: "It was a great run. On paper, it looked straightforward from my point of view, and thankfully the race went like that.
My filly has run a belter and I think there is more to come from her. She is not the finished article yet. She will be better as the year goes on."
