Lantern takes Coronation crown
Sky Lantern proved herself to be unquestionably the finest female miler of her generation as she ran away with the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Jockey Richard Hughes and trainer Richard Hannon felt slightly aggrieved that the tall grey had not been duly credited for her 1000 Guineas victory, when she came with a late finish to wear down Just The Judge, and this time the same rival was dispatched by more than four lengths.
The pair were drawn on the outside and Sky Lantern (9-2 joint-favourite), in rear for most of the way, followed Just The Judge's tail around the home bend before leaving her toiling entering the final furlong, zipping clear to beat the running-on Kenhope by four lengths. Just The Judge, winner of the Irish 1000 Guineas, was a further neck behind.
Just as this same three-year-old had presented the champion jockey with his first British Classic 47 days earlier, this was the duck broken for a meeting where he and Hannon always invest enormous hopes, and surprisingly, connections raised the possibility of stepping the daughter of Red Clubs up to a mile and a half for the Arc.
Hannon's son and assistant, Richard jnr, said: "Royal Ascot is very important to us and we've had a frustrating week, but that has made everything worthwhile. It was tough to see Toronado finish second behind Dawn Approach earlier in the week, but we always knew she was a special filly and I'm glad she has been able to show it.
"Some people had said she was a little bit lucky in the Guineas and that the others went too soon, but she has put that to bed there. We were in two minds whether to run her after she was drawn 16 as I didn't feel it would have been fair on her to do it the hard way.
"She had everything against her today and to see her win like that means she must be a very special filly. Hughesie said he would ride her like a champion and I wasn't going to interfere with that. I told him to do his job."
Hughes, clearly emotional after the victory, said: "You have to have people behind you who trust you - I'm lucky. You have to believe in yourself and what you do. Richard said, 'Go out there and enjoy yourself and do what you're good at' and that makes all the difference. She had to be ridden like that to win. She made the other horses look slow, and they ain't bad."
Sky Lantern, the first horse the delighted Ben Keswick has owned at the Wiltshire stable, now has further exciting targets.
Hannon jnr went on: "We'll take her home and see. There's the Falmouth (Newmarket, July 12), which is a possibility, but Hughesie is adamant she will stay a mile and a half. If that's the case, then we would seriously think about the Arc. She has definitely got the ability to cope with a race like that."
