Indian Ink makes a big impression

Royal Ascot report:There was a wonderfully decisive six length winner of yesterday's Coronation Stakes but instead of being one of the three hugely-hyped classic winners it turned out to be the Richard Hughes -ridden Indian Ink who lit up a rain-soaked Royal Ascot.

Persistent showers before the big race turned the ground officially good to soft on the round course and since five of the eight furlongs in the Coronation were run on that track, it spelled bad news for the Irish favourite Finsceal Beo.

Jim Bolger's star made a move early in the straight but that effort fizzled out and she finished eighth behind the winner who was chased home by Mi Emma and Darjina.

"Kevin (Manning) felt she wasn't able to quicken in the ground. She's not the same filly in that ground, but I'm sure there'll be other days," said Bolger.

But the really unlucky runner was another Irish starter as Arch Swing endured a nightmare passage under Michael Kinane who didn't get any Group One present on his 48th birthday.

How she would have beaten Indian Ink anyway is hard to see since the Richard Hannon-trained filly absolutely sluiced up on the ground.

"It's a huge help to her but she does have an explosive turn of foot. She disappointed us in the Guineas but that was purely down to the ground," said Hughes. "It's great for everyone, including me, because I couldn't get anything right this week."

Kinane didn't leave the meeting empty-handed however as Mahler put a lacklustre effort in the Derby behind him when staying on best of all up the straight to land the Group Three Queen's Vase.

"The Leger is very much in our minds but we were very worried about the ground today," admitted Aidan O'Brien.

"He was very babyish at Epsom but he learned a lot and I was surprised how well he handled the ground."

Mahler tracked the pace to the turn in but responded impressively when taken to the lead by Kinane and ran out a three and a half length winner.

You'resothrilling started a hot favourite for O'Brien and Kinane in the Group Three Albany Stakes but the Irish hope was beaten by the 50 to 1 outsider Nijoom Dubai who broke her maiden tag in style.

The favourite didn't help her chance by jumping awkwardly from the stalls and was also slightly hampered outside the furlong pole and ultimately came up a length and quarter short.

"She ran very well and we're very pleased with her. She did well as a furlong out a few came in front of her," O'Brien said.

Nijoom Dubai was beaten on her previous start at Folkestone but Mick Channon was not concerned about her maiden status.

"The Folkestone race was a total mess. She went one side and the rest went the other. She was also very green," he said. "She's as good as I have and the two year-olds have been running well so we thought we would give it a go."

Channon later completed a 1,325 to 1 double when the 25 to 1 shot Championship Point bounced back to form with a gutsy victory in the Wolferton Handicap.

The Co Wicklow-born jockey Joe Fanning secured just the second Royal Ascot success of his career as Boscobel made all the running to beat the Epsom Derby fourth Lucarno in the King Edward VII Stakes.

"He could be a Leger horse. He will definitely stay further," said Fanning and Ladbrokes make Boscobel an 8 to 1 shot for the final classic.