Mullins in the lucky last and another live one for Melbourne
Sober wins the Queen Alexandra Stakes and could now head to Flemington
Saturday, 21 June 2025
Willie Mullins claimed his second winner of Royal Ascot 2025 with Sober winning the lucky last (Racing Post Photos)
We will aim for the Melbourne Cup - this was stage one. There are a lot of hoops to jump through, but we’ll get them done. Willie Mullins on Sober's plans for Flemington
You wait all year for a Melbourne Cup horse and then suddenly two come along in 24 hours, writes James Toney.
After watching Ethical Diamond win Friday's Duke of Edinburgh Stake to stamp their Flemington credentials, Willie Mullins, the undisputed King of the jumps, delivered another winner at the royal meeting.
And giddy Australian owners were in no doubt that Sober - arguably the least appropriately named horse to win the lucky last at Ascot - was heading in the same direction as his stable mate, after a victory in the Queen Alexandra Stakes.
And no-one will argue he doesn't stay the 3,200 metres required to tackle the 'race that stops a nation'.
“We bought this horse and he has surprised us; he’s improved a lot more than I thought he would," said Mullins, now a five-time winner of the longest flat race on the UK calendar. "We will aim for the Melbourne Cup - this was stage one. There are a lot of hoops to jump through, but we’ll get them done.
"We bought this guy, he's a lot better than we thought he would be. I thought he'd improved and he looks like he's improved an awful lot. Terry, the major owner in the horse, would want to bring him back down to Melbourne so hopefully we get him qualified."
And co-owner Terry Henderson was quick to insist that he's dreaming of November too, having won the opening and closing race of the meeting in a week to remember for his syndicate.
"It's such a thrill, in our wildest dreams for our partners back in Australia that invest in these horses," he said. "We all know it's the greatest race meeting in the world.
"I think this horse can go to Australia now, I tried to buy him two years ago but he wasn't for sale then, when he came up for sale we had him earmarked and when I saw Willie in the ring I thought 'help' but we got together and the rest is history."
Meanwhile, John and Thady Gosden just edged out Aidan O'Brien for the leading trainer title, ending a three-year grip on the prize for Ballydoyle.
Ryan Moore was crowned top jockey for the 12th time, with all seven of his winners coming on Irish-trained horses, including Mullins's successful Sober.
Oisin Murphy enjoyed his most successful week since 2021 with five victories, while Seamie Heffernan made it five Irish winning jockeys this week, with his sixth career success and his first for six years, when Get It made all to win the Wokingham Stakes.
After watching Ethical Diamond win Friday's Duke of Edinburgh Stake to stamp their Flemington credentials, Willie Mullins, the undisputed King of the jumps, delivered another winner at the royal meeting.
And giddy Australian owners were in no doubt that Sober - arguably the least appropriately named horse to win the lucky last at Ascot - was heading in the same direction as his stable mate, after a victory in the Queen Alexandra Stakes.
WHAT. A. WEEK 🤩#RoyalAscot #Ascot #GreenTeam pic.twitter.com/TjFc4TVBOl
— Horse Racing Ireland (@HRIRacing) June 21, 2025
And no-one will argue he doesn't stay the 3,200 metres required to tackle the 'race that stops a nation'.
“We bought this horse and he has surprised us; he’s improved a lot more than I thought he would," said Mullins, now a five-time winner of the longest flat race on the UK calendar. "We will aim for the Melbourne Cup - this was stage one. There are a lot of hoops to jump through, but we’ll get them done.
"We bought this guy, he's a lot better than we thought he would be. I thought he'd improved and he looks like he's improved an awful lot. Terry, the major owner in the horse, would want to bring him back down to Melbourne so hopefully we get him qualified."
Only one way Royal Ascot should end 🙌
— Horse Racing Ireland (@HRIRacing) June 21, 2025
And that’s with a win for Willie 👏#RoyalAscot #Ascot #AscotRaces #GreenTeam pic.twitter.com/ycibg7dfKj
And co-owner Terry Henderson was quick to insist that he's dreaming of November too, having won the opening and closing race of the meeting in a week to remember for his syndicate.
"It's such a thrill, in our wildest dreams for our partners back in Australia that invest in these horses," he said. "We all know it's the greatest race meeting in the world.
"I think this horse can go to Australia now, I tried to buy him two years ago but he wasn't for sale then, when he came up for sale we had him earmarked and when I saw Willie in the ring I thought 'help' but we got together and the rest is history."
Meanwhile, John and Thady Gosden just edged out Aidan O'Brien for the leading trainer title, ending a three-year grip on the prize for Ballydoyle.
Ryan Moore was crowned top jockey for the 12th time, with all seven of his winners coming on Irish-trained horses, including Mullins's successful Sober.
Oisin Murphy enjoyed his most successful week since 2021 with five victories, while Seamie Heffernan made it five Irish winning jockeys this week, with his sixth career success and his first for six years, when Get It made all to win the Wokingham Stakes.
Ryan Moore is the top jockey at #RoyalAscot for the 12th time (and all his winners came on Irish-trained horses too 😉)
— Horse Racing Ireland (@HRIRacing) June 21, 2025
Huge week for @oismurphy too, five winners his joint best return.#GreenTeam pic.twitter.com/eTlCzvVVeM