ROYAL Ascot changed from hell to heaven in little more than half an hour yesterday for Aidan O'Brien as the new master of Ballydoyle saddled his first-ever winner on the Flat in Britain when Harbour Master took the Coventry Stakes.
The heavily backed Irish 2,000 Guineas winner, Desert King, had been expected to be the momentous first scorer for O'Brien, 27, in the St James's Palace Stakes, but the favourite could never get in a blow against the all-the-way winner Starborough and eventually finished fourth.
O'Brien wasn't down in the dumps for long, however, and in the very next race, Christy Roche guided the 16 to 1 Harbour Master from the rear of the field to surprise the favourite, Desert Prince, and Bold Fact, who threw away what looked a winning chance after drifting across the track under Kieren Fallon.
Harbour Master was 19th Flat runner in Britain for O'Brien, who succeeded his legendary name-sake, Vincent, at the famous Ballydoyle stable in Cashel only three seasons ago. Characteristically, the quietly spoken new master elected to give much of the credit to his staff.
"Well done to all the team, including Christy, who gave him a great ride," O'Brien said after Harbour Master had proven his last disappointing effort at the Curragh to be a false indicator of his ability.
"He has always worked like a good horse but he was still a bit raw at the Curragh, so we put blinkers on him to sharpen him up as well as to guide him," O'Brien added.
It worked brilliantly, although victory for Harbour Master looked unlikely when Bold Fact took up the running outside the furlong pole. Fallon was unable to prevent the colt veering dramatically right and he could be counted an unlucky loser as Harbour Master powered up the stands' rails.
The result also emphasised the strength of O'Brien's two-year-old team and Corals have cut the much-vaunted King Of Kings to 7 to 1 for the 1998 2,000 Guineas. King Of Kings will next run in the Railway Stakes at the Curragh.
O'Brien dismissed Desert King's earlier effort by saying: "He was never really going well and didn't act on the course." The same could not be said of Starborough, whose front-running defeat of Air Express prompted Frankie Dettori into performing his flying dismount in the winner's circle.
Starborough's trainer David Loder admitted afterwards: "I wanted to go for the Grand Prix De Paris but Sheikh Mohammed bullied me into running here and I'm delighted he did!"
Starborough is still in the Irish Derby but is more likely to run next in the Eclipse and probably clash with Bosra Sham, who had earlier turned the Prince of Wales Stakes into a procession, beating Alhaarth by eight lengths.
"The best ever," Henry Cecil enthused, a bold statement considering this was Cecil's 61st Royal Ascot winner. "She is a natural athlete, one of the greatest and we might not get another like her for some time." Cecil has not ruled out Bosra Sham stepping up to 12 furlongs at some stage of this season.
Godolphin got back on track when Allied Forces held off Centre Stalls to win the opening Queen Anne Stakes.
Entrepreneur could attempt to redeem his tarnished reputation by contesting the Budwieiser Irish Derby a week on Sunday. The beaten odds-on Derby favourite may be aimed at the Curragh Classic after tests taken following his Epsom run failed to highlight a problem.
