18:01 Well that brings to an end another memorable Royal meeting. Thirty races, all competitive, over five days. The crowds were down but we are in a recession.

Day one saw the bookmakers being hammered and prizes going to Australia and, for the first time, the USA.

Day two saw Godolphin finally getting a winner and Vision D’Etat taking the  Prince Of Wales’s Stakes and another USA winner.

Thursday, of course, saw Yeats taking an unprecedented fourth Gold Cup – one of those I was there moments.

Friday saw Ghanaati crowned the second Queen of Ascot and Queen of the Guineas.

Today saw six competitive races, culminating in the old boy Caracciola winning the last.

On top of that the weather was great.

A fantastic weeks racing and a week that has seen Royal Ascot truly hit the peak of international acclaim. The Breeders Cup calls itself racings World Championships – after this week I respectfully beg to differ.

From a sunny Ascot, in more ways than one, a very good evening.

17:53 It seems appropriate that in a week of records the final race of the meeting created another record with 12-year-old Caracciola becoming the oldest horse to ever win a race at Royal Ascot.

Trained by national hunt trainer Nicky Henderson and ridden by Eddie Ahern the veteran was settled mid-division before being asked for an effort two out where he responded well to take up the running.

He was challenged by Tyrrells Wood, eight years his junior, but the old campaigner had enough in hand and he returned to a great reception.

The grey Amerigo was running on best of all in the final stages, coming home a closing length third.

17:28 Just one race left and the longest race of the week, the extended 2m 5f Queen Alexandra Stakes. It was the longest flat race in the calendar until Pontefract added a 2m 6f maiden to their schedule.

17:25 Comment from the Wokingham now.

William Haggas, the winning trainer, said, "He's gone up in the weights for the future and had a 5lb penalty so effectively he was 2lb well in. I was a bit concerned he might not get in the race then I was very concerned about the draw.

"A high draw has been terrible all week. Today the middle was good ground and the far side was dry so we might have got lucky with the draw.

"I think he's a pretty useful horse and now he'll go straight into better company."

Joint owner Harry Findlay, who owns the winner with Brighton FC chairman Tony Bloom, said, "We were always going to come off the pace so we needed pace around us. William and Ryan are a deadly combination and the way the race unfolded, everything was perfect.

"William nominated the Wokingham as a plan from the day we bought him at the sales and I can't thank him enough.

"I'm more of a jumping man and I am so pleased to get Tony a winner as he comes here every year and a lot of his family are over from Australia.

"He has bankrolled Brighton football club for the next 10 years so this is great and I am sure he has got a real buzz out of that."

17:21 Drama at the start of the 1½ mile Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes as Hatton Flight dipped coming out of the stalls and unseating William Buick.

Road To Love set off in front, tracked by stablemate Drill Sergeant, the pair dominating the race.

Two out Drill Sergeant took the front, mainly due to Road To Love fading.

Well ahead inside the final furlong the race looked won, until once again we had another late challenger and this time it was from another stablemate Record Breaker, who was steaming down the centre of the course under Royston Ffrench.

The challenge, although impressive, was too late though and Drill Sergeant came home 1¼ lengths clear of his travelling companion with Martyr, who had been with the pace throughout, coming home third.

A good 1-2 for Mark Johnston and he gave a mention to the loose horse who helped settle his front runners.

16:46 Just two races left for Royal Ascot 2009

16:45 There has been a theory in places this week that the draw “bias” was on the stands side, others of us argued there was no bias and the advantage would be with wherever the pace was.

And so it came to pass that in the Wokingham the pace was on the far side and so it was the far side prevailed.

It was also a case of gamble landed – Harry Findlay, better known for his national hunt runners, is part owner of the very well backed High Standing and the William Haggas trained horse with Ryan Moore duly obliged having been held up before running on and getting the better of a decent battle with Asset.

The runner-up being yet another Godolphin almost won, although by now it looks as though Sheikh Mohammed has given up and gone home.

Top weight Rock Of Rochelle came home third, whilst the pace setter on the stand side, Markab came home fourth.

Some layers were paying out on fifth and that spot went to Prohibit.

As if to emphasise the slow pace in the Golden Jubilee, High Standing recorded a faster winning time.

16:16 Comment on the Golden Jubilee.

Winning trainer Michael Bell said, "He was second to Mastercraftsman in Ireland last year after he won the Coventry, then he fractured a cannonbone in the Gimcrack which everyone knew about.

"We ran him in the Free Handicap to see if he would stay a mile for the Guineas. He clearly ran like a sprinter in that race and this has been the target all along.

"I would have been more confident but a month ago he popped a splint and was very sore on it. He swam twice a day for a fortnight, then he came back in and has been cantering for a fortnight.

"He's done three bits of work and Tom came down to ride him work when Jamie got suspended.

"He worked very nicely but this is still a big surprise. I thought he was a boy against men, but he answered every call and Tom gave him a peach of a ride"

16:13 The final cavalry charge of the week next – two non-runners Major Eazy and Kaldoun Kingdom meaning only 26 charging down the 6f straight – making it even “easier” for Simon Holt to call.

16:09 Reaction from the Hardwicke Stakes

Winning trainer John Gosden said, "He won the Jockey Club Stakes at Newmarket and picked up a 3lb penalty for this. We were always going to come here but it is difficult with a penalty.

"Frankie told me at the start of the week he thought this was his best chance of a winner but our horse has shown lots of courage, given them 3lb and beat the lot of them.

"I suppose we will have to look at Group Ones now but we are happy where we are at the moment."

Winning jockey Jimmy Fortune commented,  "They went very quick early, and I was happy to sit where I was. He has a big heart this horse. Frankie wasn't stopping, my lad kept pulling that bit more out and wore him down in the end.

"It was a good effort to win with a penalty, they're not bad horses he's beaten. He gets a mile and a half well and is a very game little horse. He's certainly going the right way."

Saeed bin Suroor, trainer of Campanologist, said, "The pace was too quick early but he ran a big, big race.

"I was confident coming here after his performance at Sandown and the horse has been working well at home.

"Frankie rode him in his last piece of work and that went well. I thought for a second that he was going to win, but we could have done with the winning post being further down the track."

16:04 The Golden Jubilee Stakes over 6 furlongs and part of the Global Sprint Challenge was the feature race of the day.

With a strong overseas challenge it was a question of how well will the best of the Brits do?

To the surprise of many the answer was win!!

The tactics of the race surprised many, in more ways than one. Firstly they set off at no pace at all and secondly the American challenger Cannonball was held up.

Both of these played into the hands of the home team.

Two out Lesson In Humility was leading and Art Connoisseur was almost last, before Tom Queally bought him to the stand side and launched a blistering run in which he passed almost all his rivals.

The only horse to go with him was the American raider Cannonball and he was closing the gap, although unlike the last race the line came in time to the one in front, with Art Connoisseur holding on by a diminishing neck.

The win was a good spare ride for Tom Queally, deputising for the suspended Jamie Spencer and recording only his second Royal meeting win.

Lesson In Humility held on to take third place.

15:27 What do Godolphin have to do to win a race?

The mile and a half Hardwick Stakes was, according to the betting, a two horse contest between Godolphin’s Campanologist and Sir Michael Stoute’s Doctor Freemantle.

The latter does have temperament queries and the fact he was on his toes in the parade ring probably accounts for the fact the Campanologist won the battle for favouritism.

Campanologist was first out of the stalls but was quickly headed by Sir Michael Stoute’s, Tajaaweed. However a furlong later Barshiba shot past like a bat out of hell – fighting Richard Hughes all the way.

By the time they reached Swinley Bottom Barshiba was ten lengths ahead of Tajaaweed who, in turn, was five ahead of Campanologist.

Unsurprisingly the field were back together as they turned for home and a huge roar was heard as Campanologist accelerated from the bunch to take up the running in what looked to be a decisive move.

The only runner to emerge as a challenger was Bronze Cannon, under Jimmy Fortune.

Dettori on Campanologist seemed to have enough in hand but Bronze Cannon was gnawing away at the lead and about 100 yards out favourite backers were getting worried.

Bronze Cannon was gaining and the line was not coming quickly enough to respond and Campanologist was not responding to Dettori’s urgings.

In the dying strides Bronze Cannon hit the front to record a half length victory.

As has often happened this week the front two came home well clear of their rivals, with third place going to Dansant.

Doctor Freemantle was never in contention, eventually coming home seventh.  

14:46 We have a pattern developing now – American runner comes over, American horse blazes off in front, home horses leave him to it, American horse tires, normal race resumes.

That just about sums up our opening 6f Chesham Stakes.

This time it was Honor In Peace (when will our American cousins learn to spell properly as well?) who blazed the trail only to finish disappointingly.

Once the American horse finished showboating, Bikini Babe was left in front with Party Doctor and Beethoven challenging.

However in the final stages it was Richard Hannon’s Big Audio and the well supported favourite, Emperor Claudius, who emerged from the pack.

Big Audio managed to get first run under Richard Hughes but Ryan Moore on Emperor Claudius was determined to try and grab the spoils himself. He was steadily closing the gap but the line just came in time for Big Audio, coming home a short head winner and bringing Richard Hughes back into contention for the top rider award.

Party Doctor managed to hold on for third place with the deposed favourite Beethoven taking fourth.  

13:35 It looks like a significant Tony Martin gamble is developing in the Duke Of Edinburgh – a great deal of money from across the Irish sea 14/1 into 8/1 and now only 7/1 on Betfair.

13:27 Big Mac was just setting off to go outside to do a stint with ATR – he had forgotten to swap his deerstalker for his topper – could have been interesting but “The Boobie” spoiled the fun by shouting “your hat” at him!!

13:12 Some of the sights on Saturday and we begin with Bill Gredley's "Uniting Two Societies" sculpture which has been a taking point this week.

as well as some more "conventional" sights.

13:20 I think I will stay in the media centre. I just ventured outside for a stroll outside and the sun was shining. Within five minutes of me going outside it had clouded over again.

12:16 Some more betting moves, Crackentorp has attracted some decent support in the 5:00 as has Tasheba in the finale.

11:52 The weather is still cloudy with spots of rain in the air, however there is some blue in the distance – hopefully heading in this direction.

Talking of blue, despite the stable being under a cloud in recent weeks, it is the blue of Godolphin that is attracting support in the early exchanges.

10:50 One problem here at Ascot is the media centre is located under the Grandstand, very handy for the parade ring and weighing room – but it has no windows.

Having just popped outside for a leg stretch I discovered what was a sunny morning has now morphed into a very grey, very overcast morning and I even felt a few spots of rain.

10:34 If you fancy a UK runner to win the Golden Jubilee, Paddy Power are offering evens, with 16/1 an Irish winner and 5/6 rest of the world. I still fancy the 5/6.

10:32 Another non-runner

09:53 Good morning fom the final day of Royal Ascot - the place is pretty much deserted at the moment, the lull before the storm as almost 80,000 are expected here this afternoon.

The weather is fine, sunny and currently 12 degrees. There was a sharp shower around 06:00 which deposited 1mm of water on the course in addition to 4 mm of watering.

The going is still Good to Firm.

Going stick at 08:00 - 11.1 on the straight course and 9.4 on the round course.

Less scientifically it walks the same as yesterday.

All the main stands are fully booked, although there will be tickets on sale for the Heath (£7)

We have six non-runners today.

Our selections for today (although with our luck so far this week they are probably prime lays):-

Return to race archive:

Non-Runners

The time in brackets is the time the horse was officially declared a non-runner.

SC - Self Certificate
VC - Vet's Certificate

2:30
5 Bun Oir (lame - SC 08:40)

3:45
12 Takeover Target (temperature - SC 09:15 Fri)

4:25
17 Major Eazy (Lame - VC 11:48 Fri)
28 Kaldoun Kingdom (going - 14:43)

5:00
7 Inventor (not eaten up - SC 08:42)
9 Camps Bay (poor blood - SC 07:48)

5:35
4 Gala Evening (sore shins - SC 10:29)
6 Noddies Way (heat in leg - SC 11:39 Fri)

Results

2:30 Chesham Stakes 7f

1st 4 Big Audio 22/1
2nd 6 Emperor Claudious 4/1 fav
3rd 11 Party Doctor 12/1
16 Ran Nr 5
Distances short head & 1 1/2
Fav second
Tote
Win £21.80
Places £4.90 £2.00 £5.60
Exacta £120.60
CSF £102.56
Tricast £1,184.70
Time 1' 30.19"

3:05 Hardwicke Stakes 1m 4f

1st 1 Bronze Cannon 8/1
2nd 2 Campanologist 2/1 fav
3rd 3 Dansant 8/1
9 Ran
Distances 1/2 & 3
Fav second
Tote
Win £7.60
Places £2.10 £1.20 £2.70
Exacta £21.50
CSF £24.51
Tricast £135.54
Time 2' 27.59"

3:45 Golden Jubilee Stakes 6f

1st 14 Art Connoisseur 20/1
2nd 1 Cannonball 11/1
3rd 13 Lesson In Humility 33/1
14 Ran Nr 12
Distances neck & 2 1/2
Fav 6 J J The Jet Plane 5/2 (4th)
Tote
Win £35.50
Places £8.70 £3.70 £8.00
Exacta £277.50
CSF £215.13
Tricast £7,289.64
Time 1' 14.9"

4:25 Wokingham Stakes (H/C) 6f

1st 22 High Standing 6/1
2nd 2 Asset 16/1
3rd 1 Rock Of Rochelle 40/1
4th 15 Markab 11/1
28 Ran Nr's 17 & 28
Distances 3/4 & 2 1/2
Fav 9 Jimmy Styles 5/1 (upl)
Tote
Win £7.50
Places £2.10 £4.20 £8.00 £4.70
Exacta £106.50
CSF £84.30
Tricast £2,193.05
Time 1' 14.19"

5:00 Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes (H/C) 1m 4f

1st 5 Drill Sergeant 14/1
2nd 8 Record Breaker 14/1
3rd 19 Martyr 14/1
4th 12 Young Mick 8/1
17 Ran Nr's 7 & 9
Distances 1 1/4 & 1
Fav 17 Crackentorp 5/1 (upl)
Tote
Win £17.30
Places £3.30 £4.40 £3.30 £2.40
Exacta £87.00
CSF £194.80
Tricast £2,827.73
Time 2' 29.70"

5:35 Queen Alexandra Stakes (H/C) 2n 6f

1st 1 Caracciola 6/1
2nd 11 Tyrrells Wood 9/2
3rd 8 Amerigo 4/1
10 Ran Nr's 4 & 6
Distances 2 1/2 & 1
Fav 10 Tasheba 100/30 (4th)
Tote
Win £6.00
Places £2.20 £2.00 £2.00
Exacta £35.40
CSF £34.54
Tricast £124.14
Time 4' 53.90"