‘I’m just steering these marvellous animals’

Oisin Murphy is crowned champion jockey as we pick out some highlights of Ascot’s five-day extravaganza

Tuesday

THERE is nothing like a Frankie Dettori winner to get the action off to a flyer, and Palace Pier was a comfortable length-and-a-half winner of the Queen Anne Stakes to cement his position as the best older miler in Europe.

“I needed Valium this morning I was so excited,” explained Dettori, who last year said he needed an espresso to get motivated without a crowd. “He was a pressure horse in a pressure race and I wanted everything to go right. I can breathe now. It’s 31 years ago