Jessie Harrington found herself in the winners’ enclosure on day two of Royal Ascot when Villanova Queen (25/1) reigned supreme in the Kensington Palace Fillies' Handicap.
Jessie Harrington's filly made a winning reappearance at Tipperary earlier in the campaign but seemingly failed to build on that in two subsequent outings. However, the four-year-old daughter of Mastercraftsman looked right back to her best this afternoon with a hard-fought victory.
The draw looked likely to play a key factor with twenty fillies tackling the one-mile round course and favourite backers were probably never sitting comfortably with the well-supported Yerwanthere (5/1) parked wide throughout.
There were no such issues for Colin Keane however, who always looked happy with his position towards the rear of the field. It was Divine Light who would cut out much of running but her lead was somewhat short-lived as a whole host of challengers queued up entering the final three furlongs.
The action began to unfold towards the centre of the track and Colin Keane switched to his filly widest of all to mount her challenge. She struck the front in the closing stages and displayed a willing attitude to finish half a length clear of Daniel & Claire Kubler's mare Don't Tell Claire (22/1) at the line.
It was something of a blanket finish in behind with Tarrabb (13/2), who suffered a rough trip down on the inside just getting the better of fellow Irish raider Adelaise (7/1) for third spot.
On the back of breaking his Royal Ascot duck, Colin Keane said: "It has been a while coming, but it's unfortunate for Shane Foley, who is injured and couldn't ride. I am very grateful to Mrs Harrington for giving me the ride.
"It is a weight off your shoulders – this is the biggest stage in racing, and I've been coming here year in and year out trying to get one. It is very satisfying.
"The race was very straightforward for me. Mrs Harrington said 'ride her wherever she relaxes - if there's a lot of pace early doors let her find her feet'. It was very congested at the bottom of the straight, and another thing she said was 'keep her smooth, challenge wide and have one good run' and it worked."
Assistant trainer Kate Harrington said: "I thought Villanova Queen had a good chance, dropping back from Group and Listed company into a handicap. On her run the last day, she didn't get the clearest of runs, and the time before that the ground was a bit soft in Leopardstown.
"It's a real credit to the owner [William Crager]. It has taken a while to get this filly back to what we knew she was prior to the Irish Guineas last year, where she picked up a bit of an injury. She had a very good run last year behind Homeless Songs in the Guineas trial, and we knew this was in her, but it's great now she's back on track – onwards and upwards for the rest of the season.
"In Tipperary when she won, she came wide. She's a big-striding filly and if you knock her off balance, she takes five or six strides to get going again. The only instruction to Colin was, 'whatever you do, I don't care if you come wider, because she has to go wide'. Once she passed one horse, I knew she would always get there because she just keeps rolling and rolling."
She added: "Mum is at Nicky's [Henderson]. She had the sale on Monday and was here yesterday, so just took the one day off and is back here the next two days. She'll have the champagne ready on ice for Nicky to arrive back this evening!"
