Father, son finish 1-2 at Royal Ascot

ASCOT, England (AP) - It was father over son in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Immortal Verse, trained by Robert Collet, made a last-to-first run on Friday and won the one-mile race for fillies by 2 1/4 lengths over Nova Hawk, trained by Collet's son Rodolphe.

The result gave France-based horses a 1-2 finish, and marked Robert Collet's first win at Royal Ascot since 1986.

``It's 25 years since Last Tycoon and I've been back many times without winning,'' Collet said through a translator. ``This filly is the best filly I have trained ... in the French Guineas things didn't go to plan, the ground was very dry, and she loves soft ground.

``You have to be really stubborn to come back and prove that you have a Group One filly. Her biggest asset is her turn of foot.''

American-based More Than Real, owned by celebrity chef Bobby Flay and trained by Todd Pletcher, finished 11th in the 12-horse field in her 3-year-old debut. The filly won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies last November.

Immortal Verse, sent off at odds of 8-1, was ridden by Gerald Mosse.

``She was a bit keen, so I decided to drop her behind to help her relax,'' Mosse said. ``When I started to pull her out she reacted quicker than I expected and we got there too soon. It's the first time I've been on board and I knew she'd react, but not that fast. I had the race won with 500 meters to go.''

Nova Hawk, at 9-2, was half a length ahead of 16-1 shot Barefoot Lady.

``I'm happy for two reasons - my father beat me, and it is always better when it is your family,'' Rodolphe Collet said. ``Also last year I came here for the first time but Sahpresa was sick and we finished nowhere (in the Windsor Forest). It shows you should never say stop.''