Rapid Rosallion, Billy the Kid, The Master of Ballydoyle, Running Lion Tame and a Wild handicap success… all were highlights of Royal Ascot.

Royal Ascot delivered in spades this week and here are some highlights from a fantastic five days in Berkshire…

HORSE OF THE WEEK…

It has to be Rosallion after her thrilling victory in the St James’s Palace Stakes. Second in the Guineas at Newmarket before winning the Irish equivalent, the Richard Hannon-trained colt beat Henry Longfellow decisively with a withering turn of foot. He is a true champion miler and jockey Sean Levey insists he can be even better if he aims for a stronger pace.

He is versatile on the ground and looks capable of defeating the older milers at Goodwood in the Sussex Stakes later in the season. Hannon insists Rosallion is the best he has trained and he showed why he lit up the opening day at Royal Ascot.

JOCKEY OF THE WEEK…

The easiest option here would hand Ryan Moore the spotlight for another typically stellar meeting at Royal Ascot, but he’s well established and has the ammunition to really thrive regardless.

Teenager Billy Loughnane celebrates breakthrough Coventry Stakes success

Jockey Ryan Moore and trainer Aidan O’Brien with the Gold Cup after a fantastic week at Ascot

Oisin Murphy also had a good week at a place where he excels, but the honor goes to 18-year-old Billy Loughnane. Anyone who watched the races regularly knew he was a great learner, but to get to the big leagues you need a lot more. When weight allocations decrease, opportunities may also disappear. But “Billy The Kid” showed he was in it for the long haul with two breakout hits on the biggest stage.

Running Rashabar at 80-1 odds of success in the Coventry Stakes will be a victory that announces Loughnane to the highest level. The victory over Rashabar was a bold run of pace from a juvenile who had not lost his first title. It was a remarkable story and he followed up his opening day success with a 14-1 victory over Soprano in Friday’s Sandringham Stakes. On this occasion he came with a well-timed late groan in a competitive handicap. A week that the young man will never forget.

TRAINER OF THE WEEK…

BORING, I know, but it must be Aidan O’Brien. Tuesday didn’t go as planned, but things took off when Illinois won the coach’s fifth Queen’s Vase in 10 years in record time. This was quickly followed by Auguste Rodin winning the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes in courageous fashion as the Ballydoyle team ensured a strong pace for the favorite to take aim and capitalize on last year’s Derby hero to regain the winning thread.

More success came on Thursday with 12-1 odds on Port Fairy winning the Ribblesdale Stakes with another powerful display at close to speed. She had improved markedly during her run at Chester and O’Brien won the Group 2 prize for the fourth time in nine years.

It was better to come with Kyprios in the Gold Cup. A horse who suffered a life-threatening injury, O’Brien’s skills were on full display here as he regained his remaining crown. Like all brilliant stayers, Kyprios was a little behind but he had more than enough in the tank to fend off Trawlerman and win by a length. The word genius echoed around the Ascot winners’ enclosure about O’Brien and it was impossible to argue.

On Friday, the only thing O’Brien was missing was a two-year-old winner. It looked set to continue when Fairy Godmother was repeatedly blocked in her run at the Albany Stakes. She had to go around the entire field and somehow mowed them all down in time to win by three-quarters of a length. It was an astonishing feat to pull victory out of fire.

Bedtime Story won the Chesham Stakes by nine and a half lengths yesterday and O’Brien already looks to have a strong hand going into next year’s 1,000 Guineas with her and Fairy Godmother. Royal Ascot is too competitive for any one individual to exert true dominance, but it wasn’t far from Ballydoyle’s master.

Oisin Murphy gave Running Lion an inspired forward run to land the Duke of Cambridge

WALK OF THE WEEK…

There were a lot of contenders but there was a lot to like about the course

Murphy gave Running Lion in the Duke of Cambridge Stakes. An original customer who can

Overthinking the game, Running Lion is also not the easiest to heat up and has disappointed on several occasions with lesser runs at shorter prices. Pulled wide, Murphy kept her away from the rest of the field before letting her move ahead. He quickly took an aggressive turn on her and she never saw a rival.

If an opponent looked at her, many would suspect that she may have thrown in the towel again. On a big day and with Group Two on the line, that option wasn’t on the table as she responded well to forceful tactics to take a clear victory.

Questions about the temperament of the John and Thady Gosden-trained filly can be left aside for now, but there’s no doubt we saw her in a different light due to an outstanding lead run from Murphy about the daughter of Roaring Lion.

Wild Tiger wins Royal Hunt Cup Handicap in thrilling finish for Godolphin’s all-blue

RACE OF THE WEEK…

It all comes down to personal preference, but there is always an element of satisfaction when a horse you have coveted for a long time wins a competitive Royal Ascot handicap. Wild Tiger had all the hallmarks of a handicapped group horse when he was thrust into an 11-2 favoritism for the Royal Hunt Cup.

Trainer Saeed Bin Suroor has been aiming for this prize several times and won it a few years ago with top-notch miler Real World. He hit the target again, hanging on sinisterly in the last half-lap to win by a short head.

He ran without cover throughout, but still traveled like a class performer. The challengers were all prominent in the final 100 meters, but Murphy and Wild Tiger were all able to fend them off. It produced all the classic racing thrills with, thankfully, a happy ending!