The day Geffen fluffed his lines after Hopkins clinched the Hunt Cup

With two days to go until Royal Ascot, our countdown series looks back just a couple of years to when a John Gosden-trained horse stamped his initials on a big handicap

As CEO of Cheltenham Festival sponsor Neptune Investment Management, Robin Geffen has handed down plenty of prizes over the years.

So you'd think when the time to receive a trophy arrived he'd be well versed in knowing what to do.

Yet if Geffen's memory is correct, when he stepped up to receive the Royal Hunt Cup in 2015 he not only tapped the trophy to check he wasn't dreaming but raised it above his head FA Cup-style and then tried to return it to the course when it was his to keep.

Such was the giddy joy in the moment of realising an ambition he never thought he'd fulfil.

Geffen had shared, with Rachel Hood, in the 2010 St Leger success of Arctic Cosmos but on day two of the 2015 royal meeting he would have gone home happy with Western Hymn's third place in the Prince of Wales's Stakes.

But 40 minutes later he owned one of the prime contenders for the Hunt Cup, one of the year's most competitive handicaps. A narrow defeat at Newbury in his prep, which earned GM Hopkins a 4lb rise to a mark of 103, appeared to have dented prospects and regular rider Frankie Dettori was claimed by Al Shaqab.

And, despite trainer John Gosden recruiting Ryan Moore, the early stages were not encouraging.

"I remember turning to my racing manager Charlie Liverton when he was plumb last after about two furlongs to say, 'We're going to have to do very well to win from there'," says Geffen.

"But the leaders had gone off too quick and started to slow down. GM Hopkins loves running through beaten horses. Suddenly Ryan started to weave his way through the field and with 100 yards to go he hit the front and carried on."

GM Hopkins led home the half of the field that finished on the far side and beat Temptress by a neck.

Geffen continues. "I was totally in a daze after seeing an amazing run from Western Hymn. I remember leading him into the winner's enclosure, then I have this strange memory of walking onto the podium to pick the cup up and was in such a dream that before I went to shake hands with Prince and Princess Michael of Kent that I did actually tap the cup. I also think I picked it up and waved it over my head like the FA Cup.

"It continued after because I kept trying to give the cup back, but I was told three are given every year – the Gold Cup, Queen's Vase and Royal Hunt Cup – and this was mine to keep.

"I'd never won a race at Ascot before. It was the sort of day every owner dreams of, incredibly special."