Running Lion roars to Duke Of Cambridge triumph

Laurel stays on to finish second in Royal Ascot one-two for Gosdens.

Running Lion saw off the late surge of stablemate Laurel to secure top honours in the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot.

So impressive when winning Newmarket’s Pretty Polly Stakes in the early part of last season, Running Lion had failed to get her head in front since and finished a disappointing last of eight on her most recent outing in the Princess Elizabeth Stakes on Derby day at Epsom.

Oisin Murphy’s mount was a 6-1 shot to get her campaign back on track over Ascot’s round mile and did so in some style, controlling affairs from the front under a well-judged ride and finding plenty for pressure in the straight to score readily by two lengths.

Laurel came from further back to make it a one-two for the father-son training partnership of John and Thady Gosden. Connections will rightly take plenty of heart from her performance, given she had been off the track since failing to fire in the Lockinge at Newbury over a year ago.

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