Mine targeting group glory
James Bethell is aiming to pick up a Group race with his old warrior Mine after the nine-year-old’s last-to-first victory in the Bank Of Scotland Corporate Stakes at Haydock.
The veteran has bagged some valuable handicaps in his time, including the 2004 Royal Hunt Cup, and he broke through to Listed level under Richard Quinn at the Merseyside venue.
The 45-year-old rider, who was also on the mark with Roman Quintet, set the 16-1 chance alight inside the final two furlongs and his mount forged up the inside rail to see off Beckermet by half a length.
Bethell said: “I couldn’t believe how fast they went early on – they were going so quick they nearly missed the bend, but he loved the pace.
“We didn’t enter him in the Royal Hunt Cup this time as we are going to try and get some Listed and Group wins into him.”
Beckermet is now bound for the Wokingham at Royal Ascot, with VC Bet and Stan James cutting him to 16-1 and 20-1 respectively.
The Frankie Dettori bandwagon rolled into the course and his legions of supporters steamed into Jeremy Noseda’s Soldier’s Tale, but the 4-6 favourite was in trouble a long way out and could do no better than third.
Noseda and Dettori had better luck in the six-furlong EBF Enterprise Support Services Handicap with Express Wish, who put up an immature but gutsy performance to oblige as the 10-11 favourite.
Noseda said: “It was hard work but he has won and done it well.
“He is still immature and perhaps has not strengthened up yet, so we might not see the best of him until he is a four-year-old.”
The positive market vibes in favour of Bee Eater proved spot on as Mark Prescott’s newcomer overcame her inexperience to take the enterprise.plc.co.uk Maiden Stakes by a head.
Paul Hanagan’s mount was backed into 4-1 from 13-2 and, despite hanging left over the track at the business end of the six-furlong event, she prevailed in a photo finish from Jimmy Styles.
Hanagan said: “She was very green but the penny really dropped late in the race.”
Hanagan went on to bag a 129-1 double as Peruvian Prince (25-1) sprinted clear to take the Enterprise Handicap by three and a half lengths.
Roman Quintet has been revitalised by a move from David Arbuthnot to Richard Price’s yard and the seven-year-old made all to land the Enterprise Supports Corpus Christi College Handicap.
The 14-1 chance showed signs of a revival last time out and built on that Salisbury run to take his first ever handicap on turf, with Quinn driving him to a length-and-a-quarter success over John Keats.
David Nicholls’ Caught In Paradise (13-2) showed a great fighting spirit to rally in the dying strides and land the Enterprise Maiden Claiming Stakes by a neck from the 11-4 joint favourite Prigsnov Dancer.
