There was plenty to excite the Ascot crowds at the end of Saturday's G2 Hardwicke Stakes, with Giavellotto (Mastercraftsman) denying Kalpana (Study Of Man) in a driving finish.Something of a forgotten horse coming in off four defeats, Scuderia La Tesa and Vaibhav Shah's veteran star of Marco Botti's yard had nevertheless won a Hong Kong Vase in 2024 and beaten the Juddmonte mare in last year's September Stakes and remained a threat. Delivered with perfect timing by Oisin Murphy, the 9-1 shot reeled in the 9-4 favourite to prevail by a short head and end his rider's barren spell at Royal Ascot 2026.There was extra drama in the already-thrilling finale, as Christophe Soumillon lost his irons when alongside the front pair on Goliath (Adlerflug) and ended up 1 3/4 lengths away in third.“It's about time I got on the scoresheet this week,” Murphy said. “I had tried to keep a sense of perspective and not pity myself, as there are plenty of worse things happening in the world. The last half furlong here is the slowest and I thought 'if I leave my stick down until late I might win'–that's his set-up, fast ground, a mile and a half with plenty of argy-bargy.”Giavellotto prevails in a thrilling finish to the Hardwicke Stakes! #RoyalAscot pic.twitter.com/Ie6DqEY1Vu— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 20, 2026The post Giavellotto Denies Kalpana In Stirring Hardwicke appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.