MAGIC MOORE CHALKS UP HALF-CENTURY

NO SOONER had he notched his 50th Royal Ascot winner than Ryan Moore had his eyes on No 51. Indeed, it seemed many at Ascot yesterday were far keener to celebrate the landmark than he was, as he declared he simply wanted to ride ‘more winners’. Fortunately, the top jockey was not made to wait long, romping home on Magic Wand just over half an hour after achieving the half-century on Hunting Horn. Not one to celebrate such feats, he said: ‘Totals don’t mean that much to me. I just want to ride more winners.’ Yet, acknowledging that a couple of key trainers had played a major role in his tally of winners, he added: ‘I’ve been very lucky to have ridden a lot of good horses for great trainers like Aidan O’Brien and Sir Michael Stoute.’ Moore, who has won the leading jockey award at the royal meeting in seven of the last eight years, made both victories look easy and gave O’Brien a welcome double. He streaked clear on Hunting Horn in the Group Three Hampton Court Stakes, and was totally in command on the run-in as 16-1 shot Crossed Baton finished second. And in the Group Two Ribblesdale Stakes he was a four-length winner on Magic Wand, ahead of the favourite Wild Illusion. Following his 50 winners, Moore was presented with a saddlecloth emblazoned with the number 50 by Princess Beatrice. When asked how much the landmark meant to him, he had quipped: ‘Fifty-one would mean a lot more.’ O’Brien paid tribute to the 34-year-old, saying: ‘He’s very professional and a great fellow to work with. He’s dedicated, he’s professional, he does his homework, he’s got good hands, he’s a good judge of pace, and he’s strong. ‘He can ride from the front and he can ride from the back. He’s a great team player, too. It’s always about the team, never about himself.’ Since Moore’s first Royal Ascot win in 2008, on Colony in the King George V Handicap for Stoute, he has never had a blank year. And in 2015, he set a new post-war record when riding nine winners during the five-day meeting. Stoute, with whom Moore most notably won the 2013 Gold Cup with Estimate for The Queen, said: ‘It’s a great achievement to do it so quickly. Frankie (Dettori) will be getting nervous!’