Ryan Moore landed his third winner of the day at Royal Ascot when War Envoy claimed Britannia glory

Ryan Moore landed his eighth Royal Ascot winner in the first three days of the meeting when the 10/1 shot War Envoy finished with a flourish to claim the Britannia Handicap.

Two runners from the far side group fought out the finish and War Envoy touched off Udododontu right on the line to give Moore a treble on the day and trainer Aidan O’Brien a double.

The field split into two groups and Auspicion took them along on the near side but the overall leader appeared to be Bow And Arrow, who took the far side group along.

Udododontu (14/1) travelled well and surged into the lead in the closing stages but War Envoy charged home under the unstoppable Moore and got up in the final strides to score by a neck.

Sacrificial (28/1) ran a great race to lead home the near-side group and finished a length further back in third, with Carry On Deryck (33/1) taking fourth place.

The winner was enjoying a significant drop in class, having had his last three runs in the Craven Stakes, the French 2000 Guineas and the French Derby.

Moore said: “It was a bit tricky. I was hoping they wouldn't split as uneven as that and there wasn't as many horses as I would have liked (on the far side).

"They got well strung out but fortunately we had the speed on our side. They got racing a long way out and I just kept waiting and, fortunately, I didn't find traffic this time (he had met trouble in running in the Gold Cup earlier).

"He's a miler and loves fast ground and loves a strong pace. When he's running in those Group races it doesn't always unfold that way, but he's got plenty of ability."

It was a fourth winner of the meeting for O'Brien, who added: "I'm delighted. We probably did all the wrong things with him, running him in soft ground and over a mile and quarter. It took us a good while to learn what way to ride him.

"Obviously a mile on fast ground and taking our time on him (works) and Ryan gave him an absolute peach of a ride.

"What can I say about Ryan? He's a marvellous jockey, probably the greatest jockey I've ever seen. He's a total professional and fully committed. He has a great feel about a horse and a great feel about a race.

"We've worked with him very closely for the last three years and we're privileged he's riding for us."

While acknowledging Moore's brilliance, Sky Bet Racing PR Manager Michael Shinners was counting the cost of another fantastic day at the office for Moore.

“We have well and truly been taken to the cleaners by Ryan Moore today with winners at 12/1, 9/2 and 10/1, which worked out at 1912/1 on our early prices," he said. 

"After his five winners on the previous two days, we were looking for some respite, unfortunately for us but not for punters it has been once again a great day for Ryan Moore backers. 

"The only consolation we can take, is had Kingfisher not been an unlucky second in the Gold Cup we would have been looking down the barrel of our biggest losing day in the history of Sky Bet”.

There was an anxious moment during the race when Capel path was pulled up having broken down and The Queen's runner was being assessed by vets on Thursday evening.

Trained by SIr Michael Stoute, the three-year-old lost his action around three furlongs out in the mile race and was pulled up by Graham Lee, who had won the Gold Cup on Trip To Paris in the preceding event.

A statement from the track read: "Capel Path is still being assessed. The horse sustained an injury to his left front leg and has been transported to a local equine hospital where further assessment will take place."

Racecourse vet Svendt Kold reported the horse to be "very comfortable".

A son of Street Cry, Capel Path has raced six times, winning once, at Newcastle in October last year.