Sacred Angel produced a dominant front-running performance to strike Group Three gold in the Bateaux London Princess Margaret Stakes at Ascot.

A field of 10 juvenile fillies went to post for the six-furlong contest, with Sacred Angel a 16-1 shot for trainer Charlie Johnston off the back of a maiden success at Newmarket a fortnight ago.

Jason Hart sent the grey daughter of Dark Angel straight to the lead and while the challengers were stacked up in behind, she kept finding more to kick a couple of lengths clear.

The well-fancied Pretty Crystal quickened smartly from the rear to emerge best of the rest, but could not get on terms with Sacred Angel, who passed the post with three lengths in hand.

The victory provides Johnston with a first Group-race winner since becoming the sole licence holder at his Middleham yard, with his father Mark also breaking his Group-race duck in the same race with Marina Park in 1992.

“It was a good way to start. She is improving dramatically – very much so,” said the trainer.

“Her first run at Pontefract, I thought she was the best horse on the day. She was quite green and got beat by two horses who’d had experience.

“If you told me then, within two starts we’d be at this level, I’d have thought, ‘I’m not so sure about that’, but she took a nice step forward at Newmarket and a step forward again.”

Sacred Angel was carrying the colours of Nurlan Bizakov for the first time, with the businessman having snapped her up after her Newmarket success from the Titanium Racing Club.

Considering future plans, Johnston added; “The owners obviously sponsor quite a high-profile race in France (Prix Morny) and on the back of that I would suspect they will want her to go there next.

“Possibly the Cheveley Park at the end of the year will be the obvious real highlight target.”

Richard Fahey was pleased with the performance of runner-up Pretty Crystal.

He said: “I thought it was a good run, but it just didn’t work out again for her. She’s been a bit unlucky. But she is quite a nice filly and she’ll definitely go for the Lowther at York.”

Oliver Sherwood was out of luck with his final runners as he said goodbye to the training ranks at Uttoxeter on Friday.

The 68-year-old announced last month that he was to relinquish his licence after a near 40-year career as a trainer, as recent health troubles, combined with dwindling numbers in his yard and the death of close friend Richard Aston, prompted Sherwood to reassess his priorities.

Neither of his final two runners could hit the frame at the Staffordshire track and Sherwood now bows out ahead of his new venture in the role as assistant to fellow Lambourn handler Harry Derham – with the majority of his remaining string making the short journey with him.

“I think most of them are going. There’s one or two I’m not quite sure about yet,” he told Sky Sports Racing after Mystic Man was pulled up in the Low Cost Roofing Stoke Novices’ Handicap Chase.

One of the highlights of Sherwood’s career was Many Clouds who the 2015 Grand National to cap a stellar 2014-15 season which also saw the popular stayer land the Hennessy and Cotswold Chase.

Many Clouds won 12 of his 27 races and Sherwood will always have the fondest memories of the battling son of Cloudings.

He added: “It was fantastic and I remember going up and seeing him as an unbroken three-year-old at Trevor’s stud with Mick Meagher near Haydock and I loved him then and he became a horse of a lifetime.

“To do what he did was just unbelievable. Although, mind you, if Trevor had not have said ‘lets have a crack at the National’ I was all set to put him away for the year. Owner intervention played a key part and I wasn’t going to run him – I thought it was a year too soon.

“If you had told me he would win a Hennessy, win a Cotswold Chase and finish sixth in a Gold Cup I would have bitten your arm off, but to then go and win a National was great. You are now always known as a Grand National-winning trainer.

“I’ve had a really lovely career, it’s been 39 years. I would like it to go on, but having been ill for 18 months with a touch of cancer, someone upstairs was saying take a pull. I’m not packing up, I’m just changing direction.”

Luisa Casati has brought together aficionados of two differing types of saddles and will aim to do her connections proud in the Lillie Langtry Stakes at Goodwood.

The Vadamos mare is trained in Lambourn by Tom Ward, a keen cyclist who shares his passion with the syndicate that own the bay – Velocity Racing.

The group was put together by former trainer Harry Dunlop when he held a licence of his own, and upon his retirement from the training ranks he wanted to maintain his involvement with the partnership.

Each member pays £1,000 for the year and the usual benefits of shared ownership are combined with cycling trips, some of which Dunlop hopes will coincide with European runs later in the season.

Before then there is a target closer to home as the five-year-old holds an entry for the Group Two Lillie Langtry Stakes, over a mile and six furlongs.

A mile and a half has been Luisa Casati’s trip so far this year, a distance over which she was a gallant third when beaten just a neck in the Listed Prix de la Porte de Madrid at Saint-Cloud in March.

Following that run she headed to Goodwood for a Listed event on home turf, this time winning the Daisy Warwick Fillies’ Stakes ahead of Juddmonte’s well-regarded Time Lock.

That success was the biggest of Ward’s career, but connections are hopeful there are more big days to come after her fifth-placed run when last seen in the Group Two Lancashire Oaks at Haydock.

The race was a steep step up in grade and the filly looked to be running on towards the line, suggesting an increase in distance will be appreciated when she returns to Goodwood.

“We have about 20 members and they are like-minded souls, they buy a share of the horse and then we put on cycling trips,” Dunlop explained.

“We’ve just come back from a trip to France, which was the Normandy battlefields, and then we went to Versailles and to the Grand Prix de Paris on the Friday night.

“We’ve got a mixture of fun things for people and Luisa Casati has been an amazing horse for us.

“I started it about four years ago and a lot of the members have become friends because they’ve stayed with us, which is great.

“I’m helping Tom a little bit anyway, he’s training a couple of my ex horses and he’s pretty enthusiastic about his cycling too, which is quite important!

“The Goodwood win for us was very special, a lot of the partners were there and we went into it hopeful of a nice run but certainly not to go and win like that.”

Now a Goodwood return is in the diary, the syndicate can plan a day out at the meeting before looking further afield in the latter stages of the season.

“She ran well the other day, things went a little bit against her, including the ground, but we’re hopefully going to aim for the Lillie Langtry at Goodwood on Saturday,” Dunlop said.

“Tom’s keen as she has won at the track already and that should mean it will suit well.

“Everyone will certainly try to be there, most people are based in Berkshire and Hampshire, there are a few more who are based further up north as well, but I’m sure there’ll be a big presence.

“Tom has mentioned a possible trip to Baden-Baden which we’re likely to do later in the year, similarly I think there are some options in France too.

“I think she is going to be a better autumn filly as the ground might be softer for her so hopefully we can keep going.”

Dual Derby hero Auguste Rodin is one of four runners for Aidan O’Brien as the master of Ballydoyle goes in search of a fifth victory in Saturday’s King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes.

It is 22 years since the great Galileo supplemented his Derby triumphs at Epsom and the Curragh with victory in Ascot’s midsummer highlight, comfortably accounting for top-class older horse Fantastic Light.

Dylan Thomas and Duke Of Marmalade provided O’Brien with back-to-back wins in 2007 and 2008 before Highland Reel struck gold for the County Tipperary maestro in 2016 – and in Auguste Rodin he has unearthed another potential middle-distance star.

Disappointing when favourite for the 2000 Guineas in May, the son of Japanese ace Deep Impact has since proved his worth with successive Classic wins over the King George distance of a mile and a half.

Both of those triumphs did come on fast ground, though, and with an easier surface forecast for this weekend, O’Brien is hoping underfoot conditions do not deteriorate further.

He said: “We’re very happy with Auguste Rodin and everything has gone very well since the last day.

“The better the ground, the better it will suit him. We wouldn’t want it getting any worse. We’ll definitely walk the track, obviously.

“He’s a beautiful mover, he doesn’t raise his feet much.”

Auguste Rodin is joined by a trio of stablemates in Luxembourg, Point Lonsdale and Bolshoi Ballet.

While the latter pair are three-figure prices with some bookmakers, it would be dangerous to dismiss Luxembourg, who has won an Irish Champion Stakes and a Tattersalls Gold Cup at Group One level over a mile and a quarter and was second to Mostahdaf in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot last month.

He finished seventh in last season’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on his only previous outing over a mile and a half and O’Brien does not view the longer trip as an issue.

“Luxembourg is very straightforward. He’ll love a mile and a half and will get the trip very well. He’s very fit and everything has gone really well since the last day,” he added.

“It’s a race we were always looking at with him and we thought it was going to suit. He’s solid, has had his two runs and he’s ready.

“It’s a great race and that’s what everyone wants all the time, the best horses all together and then let it happen. That’s what we all want to see win, lose or draw.”

Ryan Moore has a couple of King George wins on his illustrious CV courtesy of Conduit (2009) and Highland Reel and of the O’Brien quartet has unsurprisingly sided with Auguste Rodin.

However, he feels all four are worthy of their place in a stellar renewal and is certainly taking nothing for granted.

“This is clearly as deep a King George as we have seen in a fair while, even with the absence of Desert Crown and three others from the five-day stage, and it is no exaggeration to say that they all have a chance of winning,” the jockey told Betfair.

“Obviously, some a lot more than others, as the betting tells you, but you couldn’t totally dismiss any of these, as the likely outsiders Bolshoi Ballet and Point Lonsdale are Grade One and Group Two winners respectively.

“We’d like to think Auguste Rodin is towards the top of the list of the most likely winners though, and he comes into the race on the back of his two Derby wins. Some crabbed the manner of his win at the Curragh last time but I’ll take a Classic success however it lands – and he did it comfortably enough anyway, from a very good horse (Adelaide River).

“It is probably fair to say his defeat of King Of Steel at Epsom reads a lot better, as the runner-up showed how good that form was when winning at Royal Ascot. That was a strong Derby, and we expect him to be very competitive here.”

Moore has steered Luxembourg to all three of his top-level wins and views him as a major danger, adding: “Luxembourg is also a proper Group One horse, just rated 1lb inferior to Auguste Rodin, and he has unfinished business at this trip after an inconclusive run in very deep ground in the Arc.

“A win for him wouldn’t surprise me at all, as I don’t think a mile and a half is an issue for him, but the same goes for the likes of Hukum and Emily Upjohn to name just two, a Classic winner in Westover and last year’s winner Pyledriver.

“This race is as good as it gets in recent years, certainly in terms of depth, but luck in running will play its part with 11 runners, and Luxembourg is drawn one and Auguste Rodin in 11, which may have their challenges – but you play the hand you are dealt.

“I’d be most wary of Emily Upjohn, who I probably think has the best form coming into the race after her second to Paddington in the Eclipse.”

William Muir is confident Pyledriver will not give up his crown without a fight in a mouthwatering renewal of the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes.

The six-year-old produced one of the most popular results of last season when downing several supposed bigger guns in Ascot’s midsummer highlight, his second Group One win after the 2021 Coronation Cup.

Niggling injuries meant he missed the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and plans for subsequent foreign jaunts to Japan, Hong Kong and Dubai were shelved – but he proved he has lost none of his talent after 11 months on the sidelines by adding the Hardwicke Stakes to his big-race tally at Royal Ascot last month.

Despite the positives, the defending champion is only fifth in the betting for his return to Berkshire. Muir, though, feels anyone who underestimates Pyledriver does so at their peril.

“It’s a very good race and it’s great to be part of it. Everything has been great since the Hardwicke and we’re looking forward to it,” said Muir.

“We’re not worried about the ground and this is what we all live for, to have horses going for these type of races at these type of places.

“They’ve all got great credentials, they’re all horses that have been out and proved themselves this year. They’re all there to go and have a go.

“We’ll go there and run our race and see how good everyone else is.”

Another older horse with excellent credentials is the Owen Burrows-trained Hukum.

Like Pyledriver, the Shadwell-owned entire has returned from injury this season – beating last year’s Derby hero Desert Crown in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown in May.

Having since sidestepped a clash with Pyledriver in the Hardwicke due to unsuitable ground, connections are thrilled rain has arrived and are hoping for a bold showing on Saturday.

Angus Gold, racing manager for owners Shadwell, said: “It looks a fabulous race, let’s hope it lives up to its billing.

“As far as I know, touch wood, Hukum is in good shape and the ground has come right for him. Now it’s just a question of getting luck in running and whether he’s good enough.

“We’ve obviously won the King George before with Taghrooda (2014) and Nashwan (1989) and it’s always been a huge race. It was the most important race of the summer when I was growing up and people of my generation still consider it a very important race, so it’s lovely to have a horse in with a chance.”

The two three-year-olds in the field are Auguste Rodin and King Of Steel, who were split by only half a length when first and second in the Derby at Epsom last month.

Aidan O’Brien’s Auguste Rodin has since become a dual Derby winner at the Curragh, while Roger Varian’s King Of Steel outclassed his rivals in the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Varian is looking forward to the rematch, saying: “We’re excited. He’s training nicely and looks great, he’s ready to go.

“I hope that’s he adaptable (ground-wise), we’ll find out on Saturday.”

John Gosden has saddled five winners of the King George, with the triumphs of Nathaniel (2011) and Taghrooda (2014) following by three victories for the remarkable Enable in 2017, plus 2019 and 2020.

This year the Clarehaven handler and his son and training partner Thady are represented by another top-class filly in Emily Upjohn, winner of the Coronation Cup at Epsom last month before being touched off by Paddington in an Eclipse thriller at Sandown three weeks ago.

“She came out of the Eclipse well and she’s going back up in trip to a mile and a half. She won over the course and distance on Champions Day last year, albeit against fillies, whereas this is probably the race of the season, so it’s a different ballgame,” said Thady Gosden.

“It’s a particularly strong and deep field – pretty much everyone has turned up. It’s a shame the Derby winner from last year (Desert Crown) isn’t in the race, but nevertheless for the racing purists it’s going to be a fascinating watch.

“We’ve got options from where we’re drawn (eight) and we just hope we get a good trip round.”

Westover, winner of last season’s Irish Derby, got back in the Group One winner’s circle after landing the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud earlier this month and takes on Emily Upjohn again after finishing second to her in the Coronation Cup.

The home team is completed by James Ferguson’s Deauville Legend, fourth in last year’s Melbourne Cup and on his Hardwicke Stakes comeback last month, and the William Haggas-trained Hamish, who bagged a fifth Group Three win in the Silver Cup at York two weeks ago.

The latter’s participation is ground dependent, however.

“Hamish will only run if it rains properly, otherwise he won’t,” said Haggas.

“He’s not going to run on good to soft, but there’s rain around and who knows? If it came up proper soft, that’s what he wants and in this company he needs it really soft or heavy, not only for him but also to maybe blunt some of the others’ ability.”

Nine horse remain in contention for the Group One Qatar Nassau Stakes at Goodwood on Thursday, where there is the prospect of a fascinating clash between French star Blue Rose Cen and multiple top-level winner Nashwa.

The meeting of the last two winners of the Prix de Diane is the highlight on another stellar day’s racing on the Sussex Downs.

Trainer Christopher Head’s dual Classic winner Blue Rose Cen has been aimed at the 10-furlong event since producing another eye-catching display – a seventh victory in nine starts – at Chantilly last month.

Nashwa has taken time to come to hand this term, but she will bid to defend her Nassau crown on the back of a scintillating performance over a mile in the Falmouth at Newmarket.

John and Thady Gosden could be double-handed with Running Lion joining her.

The Roger Varian-trained Al Husn, who defeated Nashwa in a Group Three on the all-weather at Newcastle, could take her on again, while Aidan O’Brien is bidding for a fifth win in the race and has three possible runners, headed by Ribblesdale winner Warm Heart.

Oaks-placed Caernarfon, trained by Jack Channon, is also among those remaining along with Joseph O’Brien’s Above The Curve.

There are 26 entries for the Group Two Markel Richmond Stakes, including the classy Jasour, who took the July Stakes at Newmarket in fine style on his third start for Clive Cox.

Richard Hannon bids to land the six-furlong event for a third time, relying on eyecatching Newbury novice winner Baheer.

Karl Burke’s Kylian is on a hat-trick after Listed success at Sandown last time out, while O’Brien has five entries, including the Railway Stakes runner-up and third, Unquestionable and His Majesty.

Alice Haynes looks poised to run Asadna, who was third to Action Point when favourite for Newbury’s Listed Rose Bowl last weekend.

She said: “All good with Asadna – we have given him the Richmond entry today and all roads are leading there.

“Obviously I think the ground there will be testing next week either way, but everyone is in that same situation.

“Part of the problem is he needs faster ground. A faster pace will suit him, they went no pace at Newbury at all. Hollie (Doyle) got a lead and they all stacked up and sprinted. He will appreciate a fast pace to aim at.

“Long term, he’s in the Gimcrack and there are plenty of options for him going forward.”

A possible 10 three-year-olds will line up in the Group Three John Pearce Racing Gordon Stakes.

They include Irish Derby and Grand Prix de Paris runner-up Adelaide River and last season’s Criterium International second Espionage, who could both represent O’Brien’s Ballydoyle yard.

Godolphin-owned duo Bold Act (Charlie Appleby) and Chesspiece (Simon and Ed Crisford), King Edward VII Stakes third Artistic Star (Ralph Beckett) and the King’s Royal Ascot winner Desert Hero, who won the King George V Stakes for trainer William Haggas, are other potential participants in the mile-and-a-half contest.

William Haggas expects My Prospero to take advantage of what he considers a “good opportunity” in Saturday’s Sky Bet York Stakes.

A Group Two winner in France last summer, the Iffraaj colt has since been campaigned exclusively at the highest level and has run three fine races in defeat.

He was beaten just half a length into third place in the Champion Stakes in October and so far this term has finished fourth in the Lockinge at Newbury and the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.

It is a measure of the regard in which My Prospero is held at Somerville Lodge that Haggas was underwhelmed by his most recent performance at Ascot and hopes he can make the most of having his sights lowered back in Group Two company on the Knavesmire.

“It’s a good opportunity for him. We think he’s in really good form so hopefully he’ll run a good race, I’m sure he’ll run well,” said the Newmarket handler.

“It’s one of those (trappy) races, but he’s very well and he should go well.

“I was a bit disappointed with his run at Ascot, he’s definitely better than that I think, but Saturday will tell us because he needs to be shaping up well here.”

My Prospero is a hot favourite to dispatch of four talented rivals in the hands of Tom Marquand.

Connections are looking forward to the belated return of the Owen Burrows-trained Alflaila, who won his final three starts of last season but has been sidelined since suffering an injury in Bahrain.

Angus Gold, racing manager for owners Shadwell, said: “It’s his first start since October, but he was a progressive horse last year.

“The funny thing with him is he’s by Dark Angel and out of an Oasis Dream mare and yet he stays a mile well and even a mile and a furlong.

“We’re going up again in trip to a mile and a quarter, but I don’t see that being a problem, it’s more a question of how rusty he is. He had quite an injury obviously, but he’s been sound and everything since he’s been back in training and we didn’t rush him and targeted this race.

“As long as he’s not too rusty, hopefully he’ll run a good race. It’s a trappy little contest and he’ll need to be at his best, but it will just be nice to get him back on the track.”

Royal Champion steps back up in grade after winning the Listed Wolferton Stakes at Royal Ascot.

“It’s a small field but it looks a good race,” said his trainer Roger Varian.

“He’s coming into it off the back of a win in a strong renewal of the Wolferton and he won it well, so he deserves his place in a race like this.”

The small but select field is completed by Mashhoor, who has won his last three races in Ireland for Johnny Murtagh, and William Knight’s outsider Checkandchallenge.

The latter was just over five lengths behind Royal Champion when seventh in the Wolferton and Knight hopes the application of headgear will enable him to raise his game.

“I just felt in his last couple of races he was getting a bit behind the bridle, so we’re putting the visors on to help him concentrate. He worked in them last Saturday and they seemed to do the trick,” he said.

“He’s well capable of competing at this level. At Ascot we were drawn wide and just got too far back and I think the flat track at York and the smaller field will suit him much better.

“The bit of ease in the ground will definitely help and he’ll go there and run very well, I’m pretty confident of that.”

Richard Fahey is “expecting a bit better” from Pretty Crystal as she lines up in a strong renewal of the Bateaux London Princess Margaret Stakes at Ascot.

The Dubawi filly finished fifth in the Albany Stakes over the same course and six-furlong distance at last month’s Royal meeting, with that form already franked by runner-up Matrika and fourth-placed Persian Dreamer, who followed up their defeats by Porta Fortuna with their own Group Two successes.

Persian Dreamer’s stablemate Komat was sixth in the Albany and they take each other on again, with Fahey hopeful Pretty Crystal can gain a second win in three runs, following a smart debut success at Ripon.

“I do like her quite a bit and thought she ran OK at Ascot,” said Fahey. “She has improved, but she’ll need to.

“She’s in good form and I don’t see why she shouldn’t go on the likely easier ground.

“I’m expecting a bit better from her this time to be fair. She’s a nice filly.”

Komat tried six furlongs for the first time at the Royal meeting, bypassing the five-furlong Queen Mary, and was three-quarters of a length behind Pretty Crystal.

Trainer Dominic Ffrench Davis feels she will appreciate the easier surface than she encountered in the Albany.

He said: “She is a tough little filly, who won first time out at Redcar on soft ground. She hasn’t really had her ground since.

“She ran a very good race in France when third in a Listed race, then came back. The ground was a shade on the quick side for her at Ascot.

“She is probably not quite up to Albany standard, but she is a very nice filly and we are hoping she can get some large black type at some point. The recent rain can only help her cause.”

Symbology, a daughter of Havana Grey, produced an eyecatching win at York on debut two weeks ago and has a Group Two Lowther entry.

Clive Cox feels she will not be out of place in taking a class hike, and said: “She’s a nice filly. That was still a novice and this is a huge step forwards in comparison, but this is a filly we like very much and I’m pleased, all being well, she will line up on Saturday.

“We’ve been having a really pleasing run with the two-year-olds and that was another pleasing success in a week where we’d won the July Stakes and had a double at Doncaster as well, so it gave us a good feel.

“She is a really nice filly and a full sister to Katey Kontent, who was a very pleasing juvenile, so I’m very much hoping things go well on Saturday. She deserves a step up in class and she is in good order.”

Cry Fiction was also a winner on debut, and followed up her Windsor maiden success when chasing home the smart Star Of Mystery at Newmarket in the Listed Empress Fillies’ Stakes.

“She was meant to have had two runs before the Newmarket race but had a little setback, so she went into the race green and inexperienced which showed,” said trainer Jonathan Portman.

“She was also on the far side of the winner and she might have got closer to the winner had she been drawn the same side.

“She’s quite highly strung at home and she keeps us on our toes a bit, but some of those good fillies do.

“I think there will be some fillies in there that are very smart and it will be a tough race, but she has come on again from Newmarket which is the main thing.”

James Horton fields Lunar Shine, who scored by two lengths in a fillies’ novice over the same trip at Thirsk on debut.

“She did everything right at Thirsk and this was the obvious next step,” he said. “I don’t really know what to expect from her, because she didn’t show us a huge amount at home before went to Thirsk and did it very well.

“She looks as though she has sharpened up a bit and we know she goes on the ground, so we’re hoping for a big run.”

Saffie Osborne’s love affair with the Racing League looks set to continue as she began this season’s competition with a fantastic opening night treble.

The 21-year-old was one of the stars of last year’s six-week event, scooping top honours thanks to an inspired three-timer at Newcastle on the final night of action and she picked up where she left off as the 2023 edition kicked off at Yarmouth.

Osborne’s efforts ensured that defending champions Wales and The West – managed by her father Jamie Osborne – ended the night in top spot holding a narrow 11-point advantage over Frankie Dettori’s team, The East.

Osborne’s evening started with a bang as although slightly reluctant to enter the stalls, Rod Millman’s Chinese Knot (11-2) showed plenty of guts to hold off Michael Dods’ Midnight Lir at the business end of the opening nursery.

“We’ve started the way we finished last year,” Jamie Osborne told Sky Sports Racing.

“I’ve got a great team of trainers and unlike some, mine are right behind this and behind their leader.”

Wales and The West quickly extended their advantage at the top of the table when winning race two with Ed Walker’s Dark Trooper (12-1), before The East’s player-manager Dettori was narrowly denied a winner with his first ride of the night aboard Shahbaz as the one-mile handicap went to Dean Ivory’s Achillea (9-2).

However, The East did not have to wait long to get on the scoreboard on home soil as George Margarson’s Farhh To Shy (100-30 joint-favourite) proved superior in the hands of Callum Shepherd in race four and the East were also on the scoresheet when Dettori closed the show in style with a fantastic front-running ride aboard Cumulonimbus (11-2), leading home a one-two for his region in the concluding £100,000 handicap.

Dettori said: “It’s great to win the big race of the day, it’s good for the team and good for (trainer) Charlie Fellowes. We were first and second so that’s good.

“It’s the third year of this so I hope it takes off.”

Despite Dettori’s heroics, the night belonged to Osborne who registered her second winner of the night aboard Michael Bell’s Stone Circle (17-2) in the five-furlong sprint, before bringing up the three-timer aboard Milton Harris’ Alnilam.

She needed every yard of the one-mile-six-furlong trip to hunt down fellow Wales and The West runner Haliphon, but Osborne had a willing partner in the 9-4 favourite who stuck his head down bravely for a half-length win.

She said: “He’s a lovely horse and hopefully he will have a nice future.

“He’s still quite big and ran around a little late on, but he has a willing attitude and did everything right eventually.”

Ylang Ylang strengthened her position as favourite for next year’s fillies’ Classics with a front-running victory in the Jockey Club Of Turkey Silver Flash Stakes at Leopardstown.

The Frankel filly shot to the head of ante-post lists for both the 1000 Guineas and the Oaks after dominating her rivals on her Curragh debut late last month and she was a 1-4 shot to double her tally in this seven-furlong Group Three.

Sent straight to the lead by Ryan Moore, Ylang Ylang appeared to have matters in hand throughout and was always doing enough to resist the late challenge of Vespertilio by a length and a half.

Paddy Power reacted to the performance by cutting the Aidan O’Brien-trained winner to 7-1 from 8-1 for the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket, while she is 11-2 for the Oaks at Epsom.

O’Brien said: “We’re delighted and Ryan was very happy with her, he said she ran straight through the line. He said he felt that the ground was a little bit deep for her, she’s a very low mover, but he was very happy with her.

“He said she’s ready to take her time and teach her now. We think if everything is well we’ll go to the Debutante before maybe going to the Moyglare and sit in and take our time with her.

“She’s very genuine, tries very hard and wears her heart on her sleeve. Natural is a good way to describe her.”

Moore repeated the forceful tactics aboard Henry Adams (evens favourite) to complete a quickfire Group Three double for the Ballydoyle team in the following Japan Racing Association Tyros Stakes.

O’Brien said: “Ryan gave him a great ride, he’s a tough hardy horse. He’s a No Nay Never and has plenty of speed as well, he’s laidback. A big mature horse.

“I think he’ll go on to the Futurity, he’ll probably end up there with Henry Longfellow. He’s lovely because he’s happy to go forward.”

The all-conquering O’Brien-Moore partnership had earlier landed the opening Irish EBF Median Sires Series Fillies Maiden with 2-1 joint-favourite Brilliant.

“Ryan was delighted with her and said to ride her more patiently the next day,” said the trainer.

“We’ll go for something like the Debutante and ride her patiently rather than making use of her, he said he thought she would be better ridden that way.”

However, there was no joy for O’Brien’s Salt Lake City in the Romanised Minstrel Stakes as Ger Lyons’ Zarinsk (11-5 favourite) recorded her third victory of the season.

A winner of the Brownstown Stakes in good style most recently, she confirmed her earlier form over Dermot Weld’s Tarawa who again gave chase in vain and had to settle for third this time, with Honey Girl splitting the pair.

The winner was not declared for the race originally at the Curragh on Sunday, which was abandoned. Lyons also saddled the fourth Power Under Me and said: “The two of them ran a blinder but she’s been a queen all season,

“We sent her to France (for the Prix de Sandringham), and of the team I was probably the one most negative about the trip, and it turned her inside out. You can see her today in the ring, she looks like a mare now, she’s after maturing lovely and you’d nearly say she’s still improving.

“I live my life by ‘what’s meant for you won’t pass you’ and they switched it. Zarinsk’s head poked up again and I’d said ‘well it’s made for her around here’.

Lyons is now eyeing a further return to the Dublin track for the Juddmonte-owned filly and a tilt at the Matron Stakes on Irish Champions Weekend in September, while he is also keep to get Zarinsk’s passport stamped, with a trip to the USA later in the year also up for discussion

“It leaves us a lovely option now with the Matron, Champions Weekend is huge,” added Lyons.

“Power Under Me can go for the Boomerang, ground being right and this rain doesn’t look like it’s going to stop, and Zarinsk can go for the Matron. We have a free shot at it now which is fantastic.

He went on: “I did say to Barry (Mahon, racing manager) when we’re just finding ourselves that tad short on this side we can win our Grade One over there (America).

“It’s up there for discussion and Barry will talk to the owners and they’ll come up with a plan. I would say she’s made for that but the only thing is that I like her with juice in the ground and I couldn’t see her handling fast American ground.”

Shuwari made it two wins from two starts when staying on best of all in the European Bloodstock News EBF Star Stakes at Sandown.

Rookie trainer Ollie Sangster hit the mark with the New Bay juvenile on debut when she showed a good attitude after a slow start in a fillies’ novice at Newbury last month.

Ridden by Oisin Murphy for her second start, the 9-4 second favourite settled well in behind early leaders Fallen Angel and Eminny, with the free-going 11-8 favourite Soprano, trying seven furlongs for the first time, also tracking them.

Murphy’s mount made smooth progress turning in and with the field looking for better ground up the centre of the track, she was upsides Soprano and Fallen Angel with two furlongs to race.

Owned by the trainer’s mother, Lucy Sangster, in partnership with Ballylinch Stud, Shuwari found plenty for pressure on the rain-softened ground and out-battled the gallant Fallen Angel (4-1) by half a length, with the tiring Soprano a length further back in third.

Sangster, gaining the biggest win of his burgeoning career thus far, said: “I’m delighted. Oisin gave her a lovely ride. I was on the fence this morning (about running her) having seen the report from last night, but I spoke to John O’Connor, one of the partners at Ballylinch (Stud) that stand New Bay and he was fairly confident they do go on the ground so we thought we would take our chance.

“If she didn’t handle it we would have given her an easy race, but she dug deep and we are delighted.

“Oisin was thrilled, naturally, although he said it was probably not ideal ground but that she is a very tenacious and courageous filly. Hopefully we might have some nice targets later in the year.

“She has a great attitude and is a straightforward horse to train at home and that is good on the raceday, too. I’ve some nice juveniles but she is at the top at the pile at the moment. ”

Considering future targets, the 26-year-old added: “The Group Three Prestige Stakes at Goodwood might be for her and then I suppose something like the Rockfel and maybe the Fillies’ Mile, but that is ambitious and we will see how we progress between now and then.

“I’d like to think she will stay the mile next year as her dam (Lady Pimpernel) is by Sir Percy so I suspect she will stay. She strikes me as a filly that will stay as she relaxes well and she finishes out well to.

“I suspect there is a bit of stamina in there, but I think the speed comes from her class.

“I’m lucky to have a horse like this in the yard. It is nice to have good support and nice horses to work with.”

Godolphin’s Arabian Crown produced a pleasing success on his second start when taking the Martin Densham Memorial British EBF Maiden Stakes under William Buick.

The Dubawi colt looked better the further he went in the seven-furlong event and despite showing a fast-ground action, handled the soft ground well enough to score by two lengths from Navy Jack.

Winning trainer Charlie Appleby said: “Stepping him up to the mile will most definitely be the next step.

“Something like the Ascendant at Haydock Park or the Stonehenge Stakes at Salisbury are two races that we have used before.

“I’ve spoken to Alex (Merriam, assistant trainer) who is at Sandown and we are all on the same page that stepping him up to a mile is the way forward.”

The famous ladies’ amateur race on King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes day may now be a thing of the past, but success in the contest will always being among the most prized memories of Kylie Manser-Baines.

The event, which was run over seven furlongs, always came with the promise of a prize worth having – formerly a diamond necklace when De Beers were the sponsor and latterly a Longines watch.

Ascot has always been the venue of the race, with the exception of the 2005 renewal when the track was being redeveloped and Newbury stepped forward to host the fixture.

It was this stroke of luck, and the difference in the gradient between the two tracks, that gave Manser-Baines the best day of her amateur career.

Riding for John Best at the time, Manser-Baines was assured her mount, Mine Behind, would not stay the distance but the switch to Newbury’s flat track made all the difference when the horse, historically a sprinter, stepped up in trip.

Manser-Baines said: “I was really lucky that both my second and third rides were winners, so I thought ‘this is easy, I’m going to ride in this big diamond race’, but you had to have 10 rides.

“The first year I couldn’t ride in it, but the second year I said to my boss, John Best, that I was going to ride in it but he said we didn’t have a suitable horse.

“It’s a really hard for an owner to put you up as an amateur, I wasn’t very good but I was very, very competitive and I still am!

“I said I was going to ring the owner of Mine Behind because I knew the horse and looked after him at home. I said he was the only horse that could run in the race even though it wasn’t his trip. They said ‘oh he’s been running rubbish anyway, just enter him!’.

“It was the year that Ascot was being done up, so it was held at Newbury – if it was held at Ascot he definitely wouldn’t have got the trip. It’s seven furlongs and everyone thinks the track is flat at Ascot but it’s a bit of a stiff finish, I was lucky that it was at Newbury which is an easy, flat, galloping track.

“He was such an easy horse, you could canter down to post on the buckle end. My boss didn’t come that day, he was at another meeting, so my friend drove the box and the owner was there.

“My boss said to me ‘just keep hold of him or he won’t get home, it’s too long for him’ and I jumped out of the stalls, he never pulled, he was the best ride ever, but he was wanting to get to the front and I thought if I kept tucking him away he was going to get the hump.

“So I kicked on from miles out, it was very untidy, very scruffy. Luckily he held on, but the boss said ‘you kicked too soon’. The owners were over the moon, it was my first time riding in it and I got really lucky, everything fell my way.”

Manser-Baines graduated from amateur to apprentice, selling the necklace to fund the car she used to travel the country during her riding career.

She said: “The necklace was beautiful, but I have to admit I did sell it to buy a car. I kept the car for years and years and it got me around the country when I was riding. It was a beautiful necklace, but I couldn’t wear it every day as I didn’t dare and I really needed a car!

“I stopped riding in 2012, I was never the best jockey and my ability and my weight definitely held me back. It was great fun and I miss it a lot. I have two very good jobs now but nothing compares to it really.”

The two jobs in question are vastly different as Manser-Baines retains her racing connection by retraining and rehoming racehorses but is also a full-time firefighter.

She found the retraining work came to her effortlessly after her riding career ended and she gained a reputation as being a skilled horsewoman that would ensure the horses in her care were responsibly rehomed, whereas the firefighting followed when she decided to balance her time on the yard with another profession.

“People think that we don’t care about them after racing, which is absolute rubbish. We have the horses at home and it is lovely, it’s all I’ve ever wanted but it is hard work,” she said.

“Twelve years ago it was really hard to rehome an ex-racehorse, no one wanted them and the amount of people doing what I do was in the single figures. Even the worst rider in racing can still really ride, whereas outside of racing people often can’t handle them and as they were the cheapest horses you could get, they could end up in unsuitable homes.

“Now there are a lot of people doing what I’m doing, which is a good thing, there’s lots of people that want thoroughbreds and lots of people to retrain them. Trainers aren’t giving them away and they shouldn’t because they have got a value.

“I really care about where they end up so I’m probably the worst retrainer in a way! The best from a trainer’s point of view but the worst from a business point of view because I care so much about where they go.

“I’ve still got all my racing contacts and I get a nice, steady trickle of horses, and each year I also have a broodmare and try to breed a decent racehorse.

“I’ve got a mare called Bungledupinblue, by Bungle Inthejungle, who has been covered by Sergei Prokofiev. He was a Coolmore horse who will have his first runners next year.

“This year I was watching how all the Bungle Inthejungles were doing, next year I’ll be watching how all the Sergei Prokofievs are getting on.

“It’s nice to have an interest, I’ve got a lot of friends in racing still and it’s lovely to follow the racing and have a connection with it.”

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Double Trigger’s third Goodwood Cup win – and the man on board that afternoon, Darryll Holland, remembers it as one of his favourites in the saddle.

Few horses in the modern era had a following as large as Mark Johnston’s chestnut, who built up an amazing record.

From winning on his debut at Redcar by 10 lengths, he went on to win the Sagaro Stakes twice, the Henry II Stakes twice, the Doncaster Cup three times and the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot.

By the time Holland’s association with him began, Trigger’s star was on the wane. Well beaten in the Sagaro and Henry II Stakes when going for a third win in both, he was sent off an unconsidered 25-1 shot for the 1998 Gold Cup.

Holland was riding freelance at the time and picking up a lot of rides for Johnston as something of second string, with Jason Weaver required elsewhere. Weaver himself had enjoyed some great days on Double Trigger, but later in his career connections felt a change of jockey now and again just perked him up.

Michael Roberts took over from Weaver to win Trigger his second Goodwood Cup in 1997, but when it appeared the now seven-year-old had grown tired of him, up stepped Holland.

It was so famously nearly the perfect start for the combination too, beaten just a neck by Kayf Tara in the Gold Cup before their popular Goodwood success.

“Teaming up with Double Trigger was just unreal because he’d lost his way a bit,” said Holland.

“Jason Weaver had been brilliant on him, but I’d just started to ride for Mark and everything I was getting on at the time seemed to win. Jason was going to the bigger meetings where it was harder to win and I was picking up the spares and having loads of winners.

“Mark and Ron Huggins (owner) decided Trigger needed a change of hands, so I got on him in the Gold Cup when Frankie (Dettori) collared me right on the line, but he ran a great race.

“At Goodwood he was going for his third win in the race. I didn’t normally hear the crowd in a race, but that day I did. It was unbelievable and the scenes coming back in – I’ll never forget that.

“There were a few reasons he was so popular – like Stradivarius he was flashy with his big white face and white socks, but he had this never-say-die attitude where he could get headed but come back and win. The crowds love that.

“We went on to win his third Doncaster Cup after, he was just unbelievable. At Donny it was never in doubt, I felt, but at Goodwood we got passed and I ended up in about sixth place and I was thinking we had a mountain to climb, but he kept persevering. We were a good combination that day.

“Looking back, that was one of those races that I’ll never ever forget.”

The most famous horses in history have all had something different about them, and Trigger certainly fell into that category.

“He was a character all right. When you get on a horse like him, on a big stage, it instils something in you. It gives you that extra push. Horses like him don’t come along often, I knew he was on for his third Goodwood Cup and that was a huge achievement,” said Holland, now making his name in the training ranks.

“I thought he could have had one more year given the way his last three races had gone with me, but he went off to stud.”

Five years later Holland was to partner another popular old character to a famous Goodwood victory, The Tatling in the King George Stakes.

Trained by the veteran Milton Bradley, who sadly died earlier this year, The Tatling was just beginning to make a name for himself as a sprinter and had won a Listed race at Sandown earlier in the month.

He was already with his third trainer though, and it is unusual for a six-year-old to find as much improvement as he did under Bradley.

However, his breakthrough Group success should never really have happened. Bradley wanted to run him in the Stewards’ Cup, the big handicap, but due to an administrative error he was forced into the then Group Three, over a furlong shorter.

“What I remember about that race was that I wore a jockey cam, so the footage of the race was shown on TV and it was surreal,” said Holland.

“I was riding him right out the back and I just weaved through horses, passing nearly the whole field, so everyone got the chance to see what it was like for a jockey.

“That was one of his most impressive victories with me as they went really quick. He loved Goodwood as he liked passing horses and they went very quick that day. Once he passed one, he passed the whole field.

“That win gave him a big confidence boost as he was second in the Nunthorpe next time. He was a bit of a character, you had to get on him on the track, you’d have to give him his head as if you took a hold he’d fly-leap down to the start.

“You had to give him a long rein and he’d carry his head on the floor – it was one of them, you were in the unknown for the first 200 yards and then he’d just hack down.

“We went on to win the King’s Stand the next year, 2004, yet I remember Hayley Turner winning on him years later (2011). Milton tried to retire him once, but he just wasn’t happy in a field so he had to bring him back. He even won two races at 14. Incredible.”

Paddington is a hot favourite to add a fourth Group One to his CV in Wednesday’s Qatar Sussex Stakes at Goodwood.

Aidan O’Brien’s three-year-old has won each of his five starts this term, including the Irish 2,000 Guineas, St James’s Palace Stakes and the 10-furlong Eclipse against older horses at Sandown at the start of July.

Paddington is set to drop back to a mile on the Sussex Downs and he is O’Brien’s only possible runner among 10 contenders, with Nostrum, from Sir Michael Stoute’s yard, and the Roger Varian-trained Charyn the only other three-year-olds in contention.

Inspiral, representing John and Thady Gosden, leads the older charge after finishing second in the Queen Anne and would be renewing rivalries with Modern Games (fourth), Berkshire Shadow (fifth) and Chindit (sixth) from that Ascot heat.

However, Richard Hannon will be keeping a keen eye on conditions for the last-named runner.

He said: “I’ve got Chindit in the Sussex. He is in the form of his life, but if it’s soft ground, I don’t know what we are going to do.

“It was subject to conditions that he goes to the Sussex. I might put him in the Prix Jacques le Marois (at Deauville), or the other one at Goodwood, the Group Two (Celebration Mile).

“We have a few options. He is a tough horse and I’m very happy with the way he is training.”

Facteur Cheval is an interesting French raider, while July Cup third Kinross could step back up in trip and Aldaary rounds out the possibles.

Hannon has given Dapperling, who made much of the running before being collared by Relief Rally in the Weatherbys Super Sprint at Newbury on Saturday, a couple of entries on Wednesday’s card.

The Fitri Hay-owned juvenile has potential targets at Goodwood which include the British EBF 40th Anniversary Alice Keppel Fillies’ Conditions Stakes or the Group Three Molecomb Stakes.

“It was a cracking run (at Newbury). I was delighted. I thought she’d nicked it for a bit,” said Hannon.

“We knew she’d improved a good bit physically and I was just pleased to see her running so well. They’ve put her up 8lb (to a mark of 84).

“She has taken it lovely. She had a canter on Tuesday morning and is as good as gold.”

The Molecomb has attracted 18 entries, with Baheer also featuring for Hannon while other leading contenders include Windsor Castle winner Big Evs, six-length Sandown Listed winner Kylian and O’Brien’s Alabama.

The Group Three Whispering Angel Oak Tree Stakes has 20 contenders headlined by Olivia Maralda, Potapova and White Moonlight.

A trip to the Breeders’ Cup could be on the cards for Manaccan, despite missing the Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes at York after a setback.

John Ryan’s crack sprinter has been a real flag-bearer for the Newmarket yard and won four times last season.

A four-year-old son of Exceed And Excel, he signed off his previous campaign with victory in a Group Three on Dundalk’s all-weather surface and opened the new campaign with a narrow defeat under a penalty when placed behind Vadream in the Palace House at Newmarket in May.

However, he was a late withdrawal from the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot and plans to go up in class at York have also been shelved.

Ryan explained: “I’m going to leave him out of the Nunthorpe. He had a bit of a hiccup in training and it has meant me giving him a few weeks’ rest.

“Basically I’m not going to get the time, or by the looks of things, the ground that I want.”

He added: “Good, good to firm is his ideal ground. I know he has run on soft ground, but that’s not his thing. He is a lot better on good, good to firm ground, and that is not what it is going to be by then, the way we are going.”

Manaccan won three of his last four runs last season, including twice in Listed company, and Ryan is setting sights higher for the Newsells Park Stud-owned colt this term.

One target could include the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Santa Anita in November.

Ryan said: “He would be rated high enough for a Breeders’ Cup and there are not too many horses of his calibre in the world, and it would be a thought in our mind.

“But at this point in time, we have to only think about what is around the corner, but unfortunately what is round the corner is only a few weeks away. He’s going to be a week short of where I want him to be.

“We’ll make another plan, simple as that. I’m not rushing him back. It is not life-threatening, not a long-term issue, but it just means he is not into full work at the moment.

“It has been a tough decision to make, but it is the right decision to make and it is better to make it now and let everybody know.

“The ante-post stuff means a lot to people now and, having had a discussion with the owners, the right thing to do is not to go to York. Why rush him when there will be other things to go for?

“It is just annoying, because it is a Group One, but it’s not going to fit, so the time to pull it is now.

“He’s all right and will be back to fight another day.”