Sacred Ground entered Paddy Power's long-term market for next year's Betfred Oaks at 40/1 after making a successful start to her career at Yarmouth.
Trained by John & Thady Gosden and ridden by William Buick, choicely-bred juvenile Sacred Ground is a daughter of Kingman out of Oaks-winning mare Anapurna and ultimately lived up to the hype after being given a run for her money by Ralph Beckett's Food For Thought.
The pair had the one-mile bettingsites.co.uk Betting Sites Fillies' Novice Stakes between them soon after passing the two-furlong marker and front-running Food For Thought (7/2) found generously for Rossa Ryan in the last furlong.
However, Sacred Ground was just hitting top gear and after collaring her rival in the last furlong, she was just kept up to her work to score by three-quarters of a length, with a further three and a quarter back to Ruby Wedding (12/1) back in third.
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Buick, who enjoyed a treble on the day, said on Sky Sports Racing: "It was a very pleasing debut and there's plenty to like and plenty to build on. She's a beautifully-bred filly and is only going to get better for next year.
"That's more important than the result really, for it to happen the right way round and for them to enjoy the experience which she did. But she's quite professional, she did it pretty well."
Buick's earlier victory came aboard 1/3 favourite Mcmurray in the two-runner Join Moulton Racing Club Nursery, while he completed his hat-trick on Charlie Appleby-trained newcomer Blue Nazare in the bettingsites.co.uk New Betting Sites Fillies' Novice Stakes, the latter defying weakness in the market to make all the running and win by a wide margin at odds of 5/1.
Buick said of Blue Nazare: "She knew her job really well. She had been doing some nice bits at home and it was a very pleasing performance.
"She was generous enough in front and kept going the whole way as well. I really liked what she did."
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