Spinner lands huge gamble

A gamble that included one bet of £15,000 at the eventual starting price of 9-1 was landed when Tony Martin’s Irish raider Leg Spinner skittled his rivals in the Ascot Stakes at Royal Ascot at York.

The four-year-old threw down a strong challenge under Fran Berry inside the final quarter-mile and after a rare tussle with Golden Quest, just prevailed by a head.

Aidan O’Brien’s Coconut Beach was third, five lengths away, with Ski Jump back in fourth.

“We thought about this race for him a while back, over the winter,” revealed Martin, who won the race in 2000 with Barba Papa.

“We were hoping for better ground and luckily enough it came. In the spring the horse began to come too and it all fell into place.

“He gave me a bit of a fright in the closing stages, but Fran gave him a great ride.

“We will probably go jumping with him, but last year I ran him on the heavy and that was the wrong thing to do.

“He’s still only four and there may be something for him at Galway, but we’ll just have to go home and see how he is in 10 days.”

Berry was banned for two days (June 25 and 26) for careless riding on the winner for a manoeuvre two and a half furlongs from home.

Championship Point (4-1) squeezed through a gap between Global Genius and Crocodile Bay to land a dramatic victory in the Chesham Stakes to give jockey Ted Durcan his first Royal Ascot winner.

Mick Channon’s youngster battled on well to hold off Global Genius by three-quarters of a length, with Crocodile Bay a further half-length away third.

Chineur flew the flag for France with a brilliant display in the King’s Stand Stakes

He provided young trainer Mikel Delzangles with his first winner from his first runner at the Royal meeting, and the first for France in the five-furlong dash since Nuclear Debate scored for John Hammond five years ago.

Chineur came from well off the pace under Christophe Lemaire to collar the front-running Boogie Street inside the final furlong and land the Group Two contest in good style by a length and three-quarters.

Moss Vale finished strongly to take third, a neck behind Boogie Street, with Hong Kong challenger Cape Of Good Hope a short head away in fourth.

“This feels very good,” said 34-year-old Delzangles.

“It’s amazing he did it so easily. His next step will be a Group One, I hope.