Hannon colt strikes late to defeat Guineas winner at third attempt in 'Duel on the Downs'

It was a King George who described an English summer as “three fine days and a thunderstorm”, so it seems somewhat appropriate that this hot spell is about to give way to heavy rain as Ascot prepares to stage the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes on Saturday.

Though Britain’s premier league fillies were firmly repulsed by Chicquita in the Irish Oaks on Saturday, at least the second division came home with some honour from The Curragh yesterday.

Hannon swayed by pressure to appeal against controversial Falmouth Stakes ruling

Of the weekend’s July Cup heroes, Lethal Force was easily the most  relaxed yesterday. The four-year-old enjoyed a lazy lead out to stretch the limbs that had carried him to his record-breaking Group One victory and a prolonged pick at grass to settle his rather fizzy mind, then spent the rest of the day chilling in the cool of his box. Meanwhile his trainer Clive Cox, after sorting out his entries for the rest of the week – it’s back to bread and butter at Lingfield on Wednesday – fielded interminable phone calls of inquiry and congratulation.

O’Brien’s Jersey Stakes winner has the pace to beat speedsters at their own game in July Cup

While Frankie Dettori continues his mortifying hunt for a first winner since before Royal Ascot, the champion jockey himself has gained stunning impetus after ending his own frustrations at that meeting. Until overcoming a nightmare draw on Sky Lantern in the Coronation Stakes on the Friday, Richard Hughes had endured a maddening week, repeatedly finding himself stuck in traffic or caught out by the draw. As soon as Ascot was out of the way, however, Hughes promptly accumulated 20 winners in eight days – with a treble at Windsor on Monday evening completing the fastest hundred of his career.

No less than any other walk of life, it is pretty rare in racing for anyone to profess indignation when credited with a stroke of genius. Such was the case at Epsom last month, however, when Aidan O’Brien and his patrons at Coolmore maintained a scrupulous show of bemusement about a theory that their horses had collectively undermined the prospects of the hot favourite, Dawn Approach, by setting an unexpectedly slow pace in the Investec Derby.

Many trainers with limited resources can impress at a corresponding level, but the most instructive measure of their acuity is how they set about making the most of a horse eligible for higher grades. That is when you will often see them exposed, excitably shooting for the moon. In his campaigning of Winning Express, then, Ed McMahon must be commended in both raising and lowering the stakes.

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In noting that Ruler Of The World had not been burdened with such a portentous name by accident, John Magnier apologised at Epsom on Saturday for the number of colts owned by the Coolmore partners – George Washington apart, presumably – that had failed to live up to their implicit expectations when named after American presidents. The christening of Stubbs, however, suggests that they may have a masterpiece on their hands after his impressive success at Naas yesterday.

Betting on the Qipco 2,000 Guineas is so skewed towards the two favourites that neither retains any vestige of value.