Ethical Diamond ridden by Ryan Moore on the way to winning the Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes at Ascot
Trainer Willie Mullins arrives by carriage on day four of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse, Berkshire. Picture date: Friday June 20, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: John Walton/PA Wire.
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Ethical Diamond made it a momentous day at Royal Ascot for Willie Mullins when powering down the outside to win the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes in the hands of Ryan Moore.
Mullins and his wife Jackie had taken part in the royal procession before racing and his dual-purpose performer had no trouble in justifying 3-1 favouritism.
Fourth last year, he was 2lb higher having also finished fourth in the County Hurdle at Cheltenham – but the result barely looked in doubt and he came home two lengths clear of Mutaawid and Naqeeb.
Mullins said: “Last year he just ran too free and things didn’t work out for him, but he still ran a cracker to be fourth so I thought if we get things right this year he had a real live chance and it worked out that way.
“We will give him a little break, bring him home; we will look at York next, a race like the Ebor. We’d love to (go to Australia) if we could get him qualified, that was my first thought coming in.
“I think he would handle a trip to Australia, he wears the hood because he’s a bit keen, but that’d be no problem.
“There’s a big one over hurdles in him too, but for the moment we’ll concentrate on Flat racing.”
He added: “These are just fantastic days, Jackie was just saying to me coming in here today ‘just enjoy it’, and then to have a winner on top that is the cherry on the cake.
“Tuesday was a little disappointing, but we live to fight another day and hopefully Reaching High (unlucky in the Ascot Stakes for the King and Queen) will be back for the same race next year. Ryan had nowhere to go, he was just locked in on the inside and that was that.”
Meanwhile, Harry Eustace’s fine Royal Ascot continued when Time For Sandals blazed her way to Commonwealth Cup glory.
The Newmarket handler struck for the very first time in Group One company with Docklands in the Queen Anne Stakes and wasted little time doubling that tally with a filly who was registering just her second career victory – and first since her debut last year.
Sent off at 25-1 in the hands of Richard Kingscote, she cruised to the front on the far side with a furlong to run and showed great resolve to edge out Arizona Blaze by a neck with the supplemented Rayevka half a length further back in third.