Royal Ascot 2015: Battling Eagle finally soars to victory in Prince Of Wales's Stakes

But the favourite had to fight tooth and nail to hold off The Grey Gatsby by a short head

Free Eagle beats The Grey Gatsby by a short head in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes (PA)

Dermot Weld has been winning races at Royal Ascot since 1973, but few of his 17 victories have given him as much pleasure as Free Eagle’s triumph in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes.

There was nothing spectacular about it; on the contrary, the favourite had to fight tooth and nail to hold off The Grey Gatsby by a short head, and he would surely have been beaten had Jamie Spencer on the runner-up not been forced to wait for a gap to launch a challenge that proved just a stride too late. It was more a job done well in difficult circumstances.

Free Eagle, now a four-year-old, has been restricted to just five career starts due to various problems and it looked like he might be missing again when contracting a heavy head cold a fortnight ago.

“There was a doubt about him getting here and I got him as fit as I could, given his limited preparation, but he sticks his head out and he battles,” said Weld.

Free Eagle, forced to miss last year’s Derby with a leg injury, is now making up for lost time and has the Irish Champion Stakes (2-1 favourite) and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (12-1) on his agenda. “I’ve always seen him as an Arc horse,” added Weld.

Trainer Kevin Ryan took The Grey Gatsby’s defeat on the chin. “You probably think I should be disappointed, but I’ve got the horse back to his best and I’m looking forward to the races ahead,” he said. The Eclipse at Sandown could be next.

Any remaining doubts that Ryan Moore would be leading jockey at the meeting for the fifth time in six years following his first-day treble were pretty much dispelled when he took his tally to five on day two. Moore teamed up first with American trainer Wesley Ward to win the Queen Mary Stakes aboard Acapulco, and then with John Gosden to land the Royal Hunt Cup on GM Hopkins.

Ward burst on to the scene in 2009 when landing both the Windsor Castle Stakes and Queen Mary Stakes, and his speedy two-year-olds have been part of the Royal Ascot furniture ever since.

Acapulco, described as an “aeroplane” by Moore, is a filly with a big future on turf, according to Ward, while there are also surely good times ahead for Easton Angel, who could hardly have run a better race in defeat.

Integral was a rare setback for Moore in the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes, a race the mare won in such good style 12 months ago. The absence of Euro Charline, who refused to enter the stalls, appeared to open the way for a notable double, but the odds-on favourite faded tamely following a short-lived challenge and finished fifth of six behind David O’Meara’s Amazing Maria at 25-1.

Trainer Sir Michael Stoute was at a loss to explain such a poor showing. “We didn’t think the ground would be an issue going into the race, but Ryan said it’s very firm out there,” he said.

Ivawood, touted as the “best bet of the week” by both Richard Hannon and Richard Hughes, was the other major flop of the day in the Jersey Stakes, trailing home 14th of the 16 runners. Hughes refused to blame some quite serious interference for the defeat, claiming it made no difference. “I went for him and in two strides he was gone,” said the champion jockey.

The race turned out to be a family affair, with Charlie Hills’ Dutch Connection, benefiting from the drop down to seven furlongs after failing to last out the mile in the 2,000 Guineas, beating his father Barry’s Fadhayyil by half a length.

“That was nice,” said Hills Jnr. “It’s the last year dad’s training, so it’s a shame he didn’t get a winner – he’ll probably give me a bollocking.” Actually, dad was magnanimous: “If I couldn’t win, I’m glad he did.”

The last word went to Frankie Dettori, who rode his 50th Royal Ascot winner when top weight Osaila won the Sandringham Handicap.

“Euro Charline wouldn’t go into the stalls and I thought it was going to be one of those days,” he said. “But I knew that this filly had a great chance and she won brilliantly, so I’ve got it off my back. Al Shaqab [owners of Osaila] saved my career, so it means a lot.”

Dettori is only the fourth jockey to notch up 50 winners at the meeting, following Lester Piggott (116), Pat Eddery (73) and Willie Carson (56).