Poet’s Word ran down the odds-on Cracksman to win the Group 1 Prince of Wales’s Stakes on Wednesday at Royal Ascot. Michael Stoute, who won a second race later on the card when Expert Eye captured the Jersey Stakes, became the all-time leading Royal Ascot trainer with 76 wins, surpassing the late Henry Cecil when Poet’s Word crossed the line 2 1/4 lengths in front of Cracksman. It was a tough day for strong favorites, as Chelsea Cloisters never factored as the public choice in the Queen Mary Stakes and Hydrangea ran poorly at a short price in the Duke of Cambridge Stakes. The day was supposed to belong to Cracksman, a star 4-year-old with a three-race Group 1 winning streak coming into the Prince of Wales’s, but the cracks revealed in the colt’s foundation when he struggled to win the Group 1 Coronation Cup last month at Epsom spread at Ascot and got Cracksman toppled. Things never looked right for Cracksman as jockey Frankie Dettori rode vigorously in the first furlong to attain a suitable position. Tracking the pace in the 1 1/4-mile Prince of Wales’s, Cracksman bobbled significantly about halfway through the race, and even as he swung wide into attack mode turning into the home stretch, Cracksman appeared to be working hard at his business. James Doyle, on Poet’s Word, had shadowed the favorite’s every move, and as Cracksman went, Doyle followed, and as Poet’s Word got up onto the favorite’s flank 1 1/2 furlongs from the finish, it was clear that Cracksman had no further gear to find. Poet’s Word drew clear, held firm, notched his first Group 1 victory, and earned a berth in the Breeders' Cup Turf this fall through the event's Win and You're In program. “I couldn’t put my finger on it, but he’s not the same animal I’ve been riding in the spring,” Dettori said. “Very lethargic, never carried me.” Cracksman, even below his best, still finished far in front of third-place Hawkbill. Poet’s Word was timed in 2:03.51 over good-to-firm going. Stoute trains Poet’s Word for owner Saeed Suhail, and the 5-year-old son of Poet’s Voice and Whirly Bird, by Nashwan, won for the sixth time in 15 starts. At least Cracksman placed, but Chelsea Cloisters, the hyped Wesley Ward-trained 2-year-old filly, finished 11th of 22 in the Group 2 Queen Mary over a straight five furlongs. Chelsea Cloisters broke sharply in winning her career debut over Keeneland’s dirt track but had a poor start Wednesday and never got involved. Signora Capello won a three-horse photo over Gossamer Wings and Shades of Blue to capture the Queen Mary under Oisin Murphy. Aidan O’Brien swept the top three places in the Group 2, 1 3/4-mile Queen’s Vase Stakes as Kew Gardens, with Ryan Moore up, beat Southern France by 4 1/2 lengths and Nelson finished third. No horse Wednesday as more visually impressive than Aljazzi, who stormed home under William Buick to win the Group 2 Duke of Cambridge, a straight-course mile, by almost four lengths. Heavily favored Hydrangea went flat as soon as the pace quickened and checked in eighth. Ward sent out Master Merion in the Royal Hunt Cup, but he, too, was ineffective, finishing 12th of 22 as Settle for Bay won comfortably, while Hemp Hemp Hurray, a Ward-trained 3-year-old, was 13th in the Group 3 Jersey Stakes. Expert Eye, once an English 2000 Guineas favorite who had disappointed in two starts to begin his 3-year-old season, found his legs in the Jersey, rolling to a 4 1/2-length win with James McDonald riding for Stoute and owner and breeder Khalid Abdullah.