Bay City Roller upset the big guns in a grueling Coolmore Coronation Cup at Epsom.
A quality field of six runners went to post for the Group 1 contest, with Calandagan, the world’s highest-rated grass horse of 2025, last year’s narrow winner Jan Brueghel and the latter’s two-time Derby-winning stablemate Lambourn the top three in the betting.
With Ballydoyle pacemaker Illinois reluctant in front, Lambourn was sent on by Wayne Lordan rounding Tattenham Corner, with George Scott’s Bay City Roller (17/2) his closest pursuer in the hands of Oisin Murphy.
With Lambourn sticking to the far rail, Murphy positioned his mount down the middle of the track in the straight and it proved a master move as he sped up the ground and he enjoyed pulling 10 lengths clear of the chasing pack.
Jan Brueghel never set off at any stage but came on late to beat Lambourn into second, with Calandagan also struggling in the rain-soaked conditions, which saw him finish a distant fourth.
More to follow…
Pearson stars with brilliant ride on Sparks Fly
A magnificent ride from Laura Pearson paid dividends as Sparks Fly ran out a spectacular winner of the Princess Elizabeth Stakes.
Already a 12-time winner for trainer David Loughnane and owner Dave Lowe, the six-year-old was a 7/2 shot for his latest Group Two assignment after finishing a close fourth behind two-time Derby hero Lambourn in the Huxley Stakes at Chester last month.
Sparks Fly soon assumed his usual pace-setting role and rounded the home turn in front, at which point Pearson made the brave call to stick to the other side of the track while the rest of the field all came across the near track.
It quickly became apparent that she had made the right call when, with the chasing pack toiling, Sparks Fly relentlessly galloped on in the rain-soaked ground and passed the post eight and a half lengths in hand over Love Dynasty.
Of her decision to stay on the far rail, Pearson said: “I think I looked around twice to double check! I just had to be brave and she’s such a trooper she doesn’t need horses around her to gallop like that.”
She continued: “I have never been as sure as I was about a horse going into a race as I was today, there was never a doubt in my mind.
“After yesterday I probably expected them to stay around the middle but from my point of view my filly always hangs to the left so it was no use going up only for her to roll back down.
“She’s a filly that loves to be in front but she doesn’t need to be, she just loves her own company and she enjoyed it today.
“I made sure I had a couple of checks and from about one and a half [furlongs] I knew I had them covered.
“You never know how far away they are when it’s like that, but it worked out well.”
Ten Bob Tony leaves it late to refuse the Witness Stand
Ten Bob Tony pounced late to deny long-time leader Witness Stand victory in the inaugural Betfred Tattenham Corner Stakes.
Eight runners went to the post for a Group Thee competition race in driving rain and, having undergone wind surgery since his last race and fitted with a tongue tie for the first time, it was the Group Two winner.
But galloping strongly to the line, Kieran Shoemark produced the Ed Walker-trained Ten Bob Tony (11/2) with a withering run and he rose in the shadow of the post to win by a head. Poet Master finished third, with the two best in the market – Never So Brave and Alcantor – unable to come in from behind.
Walker said: “He needs those conditions, it was mega, it was very easy to see and Kieran gave him a peach.
Ten Bob Tony (right) struck gold at Epsom
“He relaxed nicely and a couple of the fancy horses never really got into it so it went really well.
“He won this race last year (running at Haydock as John of Gaunt) and we were hoping he would go on and have a good year but it never quite happened, mainly because it was fast ground all summer. He ran well in the Foret.
“I think we just have to pick our battles, annoyingly a seven-furlong Group 1 or 2 doesn’t grow on trees. The forest is his race.
“It’s hard to know exactly what to do with him. Would you try the Prix Maurice de Gheest if it came soft? There’s City of York over seven, but I’d probably rather go up to a mile than back to six as we’ve tried it.
“If he runs anything other than seven, I’d say it will be a mile and worse horses than he’s won Group Ones.”