Frankie gets his last Royal Ascot hurrah – in spades

We all wanted Frankie to have a last Royal Ascot hurrah. In the end he got four, including a ninth Gold Cup to list on the Dettori honours board, a ride in carriage four of the Royal Procession and a cheeky kiss for the Queen. Ascot has always done for him what the Hollies crowd at Edgbaston have done for Stuart Broad, revved up by his flailing arms as he pounds into the wicket. But let us not grieve: a truly thrilling Ascot provided plenty more evidence of quality in the saddle.

‘Riding is about reaction,’ said Ruby Walsh after Shaquille won the Commonwealth Cup for co-trainers Julie Camacho and Steve Brown in the hands of Oisin Murphy. As the stalls opened, Shaquille reared up, losing many lengths, but in a mature display of cool courage Murphy didn’t rush it. He crept quietly and steadily back to the pack, then threaded his way through to win going away. In the Wokingham Stakes the tricksy Khaadem, who had sat in the stalls the previous year in the King’s Stand, dropped jockey Jamie Spencer behind the gates when the blinds went on. But the man they call The Magician settled him in the rear, came through smoothly from two out and picked off Sacred in the last hundred yards. Joy all round.

Charlie Hills had kept faith with the -seven-year-old when Shadwell disposed of him and was determined to ‘train him as a proper horse’, while Dubai-based owner Jim Hay regards Jamie Spencer as part of the family. The only surprise, apart from the 80-1 price, was to learn that this was Jamie’s first Group One victory in Britain since 2011.

Equally warming was the Hardwicke victory for the popular Pyledriver, one of those one-time underdog horses who has been adopted by the racing nation.