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Circus Maximus's 10/1 victory in the G1 £538,750 St James's Palace Stakes handed jockey Ryan Moore a 55th Royal Ascot winner. It was his second success in the race - he took it in 2015 on Gleneagles, again for today's winning trainer, Aidan O'Brien.
The Galileo colt was supplemented for the race at a cost of £45,000 six days ago. He finished sixth in the G1 Derby at Epsom when ridden by Frankie Dettori.
Circus Maximum held off 4/1 chance King Of Comedy, second for trainer John Gosden and jockey Adam Kirby, to win by a neck. Gosden also trained Too Darn Hot, the 2/1 favourite, who finished third.
Moore, for whom this was a 30.62/1 double - he won the Coventry Stakes aboard Arizona earlier in the afternoon - said: "Circus Maximus has plenty of speed. The mare [Duntle, Circus Maximus's dam] was good and won a couple of races here.
"Circus Maximus has been a little bit slow coming to himself and learning about it all.
"He showed plenty at two and ran a good race at Doncaster at the end of the year, which gave him a chance, plus the rain helped.
"When Too Darn Hot got to me, he did not go by me, and I knew this horse would keep going.
"Fair play to Aidan because he phoned me up on Monday morning to speak about putting him in the race and I said, 'when you supplement them, they have to win!'
"Aidan knew this horse had a bit of talent and he ran a good race in the Derby, but he didn't stay."