Qatar Racing third in Royal Ascot 2017 owner standings

After seing a winner and a number of placed horses carry their colours at the meeting, Qatar Racing finished third behind Coolmore and Godolphin in the final owner standings for Royal Ascot 2017.

The winner came on Thursday when Bless Him won what is traditionally one of the most competitive handicaps of the entire season, the Britannia. Bless Him sneaked in at the foot of the weights and showed plenty of improvement in a race that brought out the best in him, also given a great ride by Jamie Spencer as he squeezed through a gap just as it got tight for the runner-up. The race had been a long-term plan orchestrated by Bless Him's trainer David Simcock, so big thanks go to him and his team, while the team at Longholes, our rehabilitation facility, deserve lots of credit too for nursing Bless Him back to health after he had two colic operations last year.

Qatar Racing's second-placed horse was Count Octave (pictured), who did everything right in Friday's Gr. 2 Queen's Vase but was just collared by Stradivarius. Again this was a long-term plan, the race mentioned by Count Octave's trainer Andrew Balding after he'd won his maiden, so plenty of credit goes to him and his team at Kingsclere. Hopefully we have a genuine St Leger contender on our hands.

The two thirds at the meeting were Out of The Flames and Chemical Charge. The Richard Hannon-trained Out of The Flames improved again as she finished third behind the two market leaders in the Gr. 2 Queen Mary Stakes on Wednesday, and she could well be even better over six furlongs, which opens up plenty of options for her going forward. The Ralph Beckett-trained Chemical Charge ran an absolute blinder behind Idaho and Barsanti in the Gr. 2 Hardwicke Stakes on Saturday, producing his best performance ever - 120 - on Timeform ratings. He may actually have finished closer with a clearer run through, and he'll surely win a stakes race in the near future.

As well as those placed horses, Qatar Racing's Rich Legacy (Ralph Beckett) outran huge odds to finish fourth in the Gr. 2 Ribblesdale Stakes on Thursday. It was great to see her bounce back to the form of her win in last year's Gr. 2 May Hill Stakes, and the fact she has now proven her stamina for a mile and a half gives us more options.