Frankie Dettori set bookmakers trembling when making it three-from-three at Royal Ascot on Thursday aboard Star Catcher for John Gosden in the Ribblesdale Stakes.
Available at almost double the 4-1 she was eventually sent off at in the morning, Dettori's mount was keen in the early stages. He managed to get her settled midfield, before quickening smartly to go by Queen Power, who had beaten her last time out, and it was Oaks third Fleeting who made ground up from the rear to keep Star Catcher honest in the closing stages.
The trainer said: "We planned this after she won her maiden in April. She was in the Oaks, but Frankie told us not to go there and he was right. Frankie can just take it to another level, it's like he's in the final at Wimbledon, he is riding quite beautifully. Of course everyone will expect him to win the Gold Cup now, but we all know what this game is like, it probably won't happen."
The Gold Cup is the next race, with the price of red-hot favourite Stradivarius shortening all the time.
There are two races after that, with Dettori riding Turgenev in the Britannia Handicap and Questionare in the concluding King George V Handicap. All of three remaining mounts are trained by Gosden.
🏆 Frankie Dettori maintains his perfect record on day three with another superb ride on Star Catcher in the Ribblesdale!
— Sporting Life (@SportingLife) June 20, 2019
🙌 It's his third winner today, fifth of the week and 65th at #RoyalAscot overall! pic.twitter.com/EvVgNbC93g
The success also continued a fine week for Ben Linfoot's Value Bet column, he tipped Star Catcher at 10/1 in his Thursday preview.
