Fruits Of Love confounded the vets by winning the Hardwicke Stakes for the second year running at Royal Ascot today.
The Mark Johnston-trained entire was having his first outing since suffering a career-threatening injury last year.
The five-year-old had sustained damage to a suspensory ligament while racing in Japan which came to light during the horse's preparation for the Hong Kong Vase in December.
Immediately after watching Fruits Of Love defeat his stablemate Yavana's Pace by a length and a half in the Group Two contest, Johnston said: 'There's a few vets who told me to retire the horse that I'll be looking forward to seeing.'
Johnston was clearly delighted after his two runners had dominated the race from the outset with Yavana's Pace setting a decent gallop until the 9-2 winner took over at the furlong-pole.
He said: 'He's had a lot of problems but he's as good as ever and to have first and second - that's fantastic.'
Darryll Holland, the rider of the second, and Peslier totally ignored Johnston's instructions which were to hold both horses up.
And the Middleham trainer went on: 'That was jockeyship at its best. The instructions have gone out of the window and they've ridden against the clock not the opposition.'
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