Namibian gave trainer Mark Johnston his sixth win in the Queen's Vase at Royal Ascot with a battling success over Solar Sky.
Silvestre de Sousa took the 7-2 favourite into the lead from his stablemate Eternal Heart two furlongs out and though Tom Queally went after him on Solar Sky, Namibian pulled out extra to give the jockey his 50th victory of the season - and his first at the Royal meeting.
Namibian was first past the post by a neck after the first two got close together in the dying strides, with Eternal Heart plugging on for third, another seven lengths away. The stewards held an inquiry, but the placings remained unaltered.
Johnston, who had three runners in the race, said: "It was very hard to know (which ones would stay) going into the race, so I threw a lot of eggs into this basket.
"When they turned for home I thought everything was perfect because I had three of the first four. I thought Eternal Heart was going to win but a furlong out you could clearly see that he wasn't going to, and then Namibian burst on the scene. All three of mine have run really well and were fighting out the finish at one point.
"He's got lots of options, and you'd say the St Leger was one of them, but we'll keep an open mind."
De Sousa was given a three-day ban for causing interference with Solar Sky.
The jockey said: "They've decided to give me three days, but it is worth it for the win. They said I interfered with the other horse, but he went ahead of me. It's one of those things that happen in racing. It's an amazing feeling to ride my first Royal Ascot winner."
Posts
