French Duke and James Doyle © Photo Healy Racing
French Duke got off the mark for Roger Varian and Wathnan Racing in the Coral Daily Rewards Shaker Handicap at Goodwood.
The Sea The Stars colt was last seen finishing sixth in the King George V Stakes at Royal Ascot and returned to action wearing a hood for the first time.
Under James Doyle, Wathnan’s retained rider, the three-year-old was the 16-5 favourite in a field of 10 as he looked to set aside his maiden status and kickstart a successful meeting for his increasingly-prominent owners.
From stall seven he worked his way through the race, locking horns with John and Thady Gosden’s Lord Of Love in the final furlong and battling on best to prevail by a neck.
“He’s still learning the game, he’s a bit raw and immature,” Varian said.
“After Ascot, where he ran his race upside down, we really wanted to see him finish today.
“In doing so, at a medium gallop on fast ground, we were probably further back than James wanted to be.
“The horse is still learning but he showed toughness there, I think I would upgrade that performance.
“For me he is not the finished article but it was nice to see him tough it out today.
“If you watch the race at Ascot, he ran huge that day but he did too much and moved too early in the race. Today it was very important that he hit the line strong.”
Al Anoud did connections proud with a tough victory in the British Stallion Studs EBF Fillies’ Handicap.
Trained by Ralph Beckett and ridden by Hector Crouch, the filly won twice as a three-year-old but was yet to get off the mark in two starts this season.
As a 7-2 chance on the Downs she rectified that, prevailing by a head from the 9-4 favourite in Power Of Destiny when carrying significantly more weight.
Beckett said: “I was fairly confident she would handle the drop back in trip – even though they went no gallop she didn’t really get home over a mile and four furlongs at Pontefract last time.
“They did that again today, but it suited us that they did not get racing too soon.
“She and Doha, who runs in the Nassau Stakes tomorrow, arrived in the same week with us last year after the July Meeting and you wouldn’t have picked which was the better filly at the time.
“We always thought this filly would graduate, but we will see. I think we will stick at this distance and there is a race for her at York’s Ebor meeting.”
Coto De Caza overcame the excitement of the occasion to come out on top for Simon and Ed Crisford in the British Stallion Studs EBF Alice Keppel Fillies’ Conditions Stakes.
A 2-1 favourite under young rider Harry Davies, the Sioux Nation filly built on a narrowly beaten run on debut and a convincing win at Beverley last time to prevail by a comfortable two and a half lengths.
“She’s just a little bit flighty and she was getting a bit worked up, so I asked the stewards if she could go down early,” said Ed Crisford.
“To be honest, I thought she had run her race by the time she got to the start – I was very worried. But she’s a good filly, she has a lot of talent and a lot of class.
“She hasn’t been that bad before, but when she won at Beverley it was a quiet day and she was saddled in the stables.
“It is a festival meeting here, a lot of people, and it’s very hot as well. A few of them were getting warm, but she was just particularly getting worked up.
“She’s a nice filly and I’m pleased for the owner. They don’t have many horses, so it is great for them. I don’t think we want to be bringing her back too quickly after this; just give her the time and see how she is, but maybe something like the Flying Childers might suit her.
“I think we have learnt a lot about her today, and it is only her third run. It is about channelling that energy in the right spot now. She’s got talent and we’ve got a nice filly on our hands.”
The concluding HKJC World Pool Handicap was then won by Blue Prince at 14-1 for David Probert and David Evans.
