A review of the rest of the Scurry Stakes card from Sandown as Via Serendipity landed another handicap victory for Charlie Fellowes.
Via Serendipity put himself in contention for a late call up to trainer Charlie Fellowes team for Royal Ascot next week when rolling back the years to secure a second victory in the Coral Play “Racing-Super-Series” For Free Handicap (1m) at Sandown Park.
Having claimed the mile prize back in 2018 when trained by Stuart Williams the evergreen eight year old bounced back to form when stepping forward from his previous two starts this season to move closer to an outing in Wednesday’s Royal Hunt Cup.
Coming with a sustained run down the outside of the field the 11/2 chance found plenty during the closing stages of the race to hold off Coase by a neck to give rising star of the weighing room Harry Davies his first winner at the Esher venue.
Fellowes, speaking away from the track, said: “He has taken ages to come to hand this season. As he is an eight year old I gave him a nice long holiday but he took forever to come back and was one of the last horses to lose his winter coat.
“He ran really poorly at Newmarket and Windsor but the last month he has turned inside out and he was gleaming in his coat today.
“He is a real character in the string and when he is quiet you know something is up but the last month he has really blossomed.
“I was pretty confident he would run a nice race. The ground had come right and Harry gave him a peach of a ride.
“He is in the Buckingham Palace and even though there will be a big field seven is too sharp so it will be the Royal Hunt Cup or nothing.
“If he sneaks into the Royal Hunt Cup we will definitely think about it. He has won at Ascot before and it is over the mile and there will be plenty of pace with a big field and that is what he wants.”
Unlimited Replays
of all UK and Irish races with our Race Replays
Discover Sporting Life Plus Benefits
Jockey Club member Julian Richmond-Watson might have had to wait longer than expected to watch Vee Sight make his first start of the season but he admitted it was “exciting” seeing him score on his return in the Coral “Beaten-By-A-Length” Free Bet Handicap.
Anchored close to the rear of the field the Ralph Beckett-trained 9/4 Favourite swept around the outside of the entire field before pulling clear late on in the nine furlong contest before scoring by two and a quarter lengths under Silvestre De Sousa.
Richmond-Watson, who served as Senior Steward of The Jockey Club between 2003 and 2009, said: “He was good. We’ve had to wait a long time to get him ready this year. We had planned to start him a bit early but that was exciting.
“Ralph horses had been a bit in and out and he wasn’t quite ready to go but he was ready to go today so that was exciting and on we go from there. I’ve got no plans.
“I was fairly optimistic. When I saw how fresh he was I thought he might need the race, not for fitness but mentally. I think he is still a bit of a baby. That family take a long time to grow up. The mother took about three years to grow up.
“We were a little disappointed (with him at two). On his last race (of 2021) at Newmarket he suddenly got the message a bit more and started to run on. That was the moment we thought we have a reasonably nice horse here and we will be able to work our way up.
“I should think he will get a mile and a quarter no trouble as the family have managed that well.”
Unlimited Replays
of all UK and Irish races with our Race Replays
Discover Sporting Life Plus BenefitsAnother Golden win for Suhail
The silks of Cazoo Derby-winning owner Saeed Suhail were carried to glory seven days after Desert Crown’s success in the Epsom Downs Classic when Golden Voice secured a tenacious success in the Coral Proud Supporter Of British Racing Handicap at Sandown.
After finishing runner-up when sent off favourite last time out at York, the William Haggas-trained Havana Gold gelding was not to be denied on this occasion. when digging deep under Tom Marquand to land the seven-furlong event.
Hitting full stride during the closing stages the well supported 11/10 Favourite emerged victorious after getting the better of a final furlong battle with Windseeker by a head.
Marquand said: “The race worked really nice for us early and the only thing you could have asked for was a little bit of a stronger pace as every time they upped it, from three and half down, I was well aware I could have the leader covered but I didn’t want to do it too soon after what happened at York last time.
“If we had gone a stronger gallop we would have won a little bit better in the fact that I would have been able to time it right. It was a really good performance and he has stuck to it in that last 100 yards for me.
“Hopefully he is a horse that is learning what the game is. He is certainly a horse that is improving. He is a nice horse and there is more there.”
Frankie Dettori hoped that the victory of the John and Thady Gosden-trained Honiton in the blue silks of Godolphin was a sign of things to come in the same colour for his beloved Italy in their Nations League clash with England tonight in what is a repeat of the Euro 2020 Final.
Having been placed in all three starts this year the 1/2 favourite finally hit the target when accounting for his rivals by nine lengths in the Coral Committed To Safer Gambling British EBF Maiden Stakes (1m 2f).
Dettori said: “Come on the Azzurri! This is the first time we have played each other since we beat you in the Euros. I’m going to be boring though and say it will be 1-1.”
On the winner he added: “He has run three times this year but he kept bumping into some nice ones but today he finally broke the duck.
“He went to Newcastle and I thought that was a hot race and he finished third. Today it was a much easier race.”
Away from action on the track racegoers had the chance to take to the oche and play against three-times BDO World Championship runner-up Tony O’Shea and fellow former darts professional turned pundit Bobby George.
Taking on players of all abilities in between action from the seven-race card O’Shea, who is nicknamed The Silverback, hailed the event had been a roaring success.
O’Shea said: “This is great for racegoers to have the chance to do something a little bit different between races.
“We have not stopped and literally the races have been our breaks but that is exactly how we want it to be.
“We’ve had a real mixture of ages, ability and gender playing against us which has been great.
“Bobby has bumped into people from 40 or 50 years ago that he has known while others have come up to me showing pictures and selfies we have had from the world championship at the Lakeside.
“Everyone has thrown a dart in some point in their life and you don’t have to be good it is all about having fun.
“Racing is a great day out and hopefully The Jockey Club will look to do more of these events.”
