O’Brien celebrates Group One double

Drawing a blank on the first day of Royal Ascot is just a distant memory for trainer Aidan O’Brien after Caravaggio and Winter provided him with a magnificent Group One double yesterday.

Having suffered an uncharacteristically slow start to the meeting, with the shock defeat of dual 2,000 Guineas winner Churchill in the St James’s Palace Stakes, normal service was resumed thanks to two of his latest high-profile performers.

After leaving his rivals toiling in the Coventry Stakes 12 months ago, Caravaggio made his return visit a successful one when initiating a bigrace double for O’Brien and jockey Ryan Moore in claiming his second top-level success in the Commonwealth Cup.

Billed as the race of the week, the outcome did not disappoint and, while it looked like the finish would be fought out by the front-running Harry Angel and the strong travelling Blue Point, it was to fall the way of the odds-on favourite, who waited in the wings until pouncing late on.

Having sat well off the pace the 5-6 market leader motored past the battling Godolphinowned pair, before moving on to claim victory by three-quarters of a length from Harry Angel, with Blue Point half a length away in third.

It was expected coming into the season that Winter would have something of a supporting role behind the Fillies’ Mile heroine Rhododendron.

However, her position as the leading three-yearold filly was cemented in style when leading home a 1-2-3 for the trainer in the Coronation Stakes.

The 4-9 favourite claimed the mile prize by 2¼ lengths from Roly Poly.

Hydrangea was a neck away in third.