Moore Establishes Royal Ascot Riding Record

Jockey Ryan Moore rode a record ninth winner of this year's Royal Ascot meeting on favored Aloft in the Queen's Vase Stakes that closed out the June 19 card.

The Aidan O'Brien-trained 3-year-old was the 5-2 favorite and beat Tommy Docc by half length. One day of racing remains at the meeting, June 20.

"I'm very lucky. I get to ride the best horses and that makes a big difference," Moore said after the record win.

At the prestigious 304-year-old meeting west of London, Lester Piggott was the first jockey in recorded history to claim eight Royal Ascot winners in 1965. He repeated the feat a decade a later and Pat Eddery matched that total in 1989.

"Ryan Moore is a brilliant jockey," Piggott said. "To win nine races during any week is a fantastic achievement, but to do it at Royal Ascot, where the competition is so tough, is extremely impressive. I'm sure Ryan will go on to break many more records during his career."

As for the record-breaking race, Moore said nothing came easy aboard Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith's Aloft in the two-mile race.

"It was a very messy race, I was slowly away and in a bad position, and having to pick my way, he was a bit rusty all the way round," Moore said. "He's a fair horse, this fellow. He's open to all sorts of improvement. It's his first run of the year and you wouldn't know where he could end up."