King Henry rules supreme

Trained by Aidan O'Brien and ridden by Johnny Murtagh, the Kingmambo colt preserved his unbeaten record this term with another top-notch performance and he had too many guns for runner-up Raven's Pass, who finished well but was no match for the 4-7 favourite.

O'Brien said: "We are delighted - he's a really special horse. He has speed, stamina, class and he picks up - he has a great attitude and Johnny rode him with so much confidence. He's a great horse and I think it's very hard to say that we'll get a better miler than this lad."

Equiano struck a 22-1 blow for Spain when making just about all the running up the stands rail to win the King's Stand Stakes.

Australian speedball Takeover Target, winner of this race in 2006 and fourth 12 months ago, ran a typically bold race to finish second.

Jeremy Noseda's Fleeting Spirit was sent off the well-supported 15-8 favourite but had to settle for a close third, while Dandy Man finished best of those to have raced on the far side in fourth.

Haradasun narrowly repelled French raider Darjina to win the Queen Anne Stakes, the opening race on day one of the festival.

Striking another victory for the Murtagh-O'Brien combination, the five-year-old entire came with a powerful run on the near-side rail to score at odds of 5-1.

Darjina showed plenty of dash but had to make do with second, while Finsceal Beo was third.