A flared nostril prevented another big race dead-heat as Midnight Line was awarded the narrowest of victories in the Prestige Stakes at Goodwood yesterday. In a near repeat of Thursday's Nunthorpe finish, judge Jane Stickels, unable to separate Coastal Bluff and Ya Malak at York, took over 10 minutes to split the Henry Cecil filly and Alignment.
There was barely a hair's breadth between the pair as they flashed past the line, but by studying a print with a magnifying glass Mrs Stickels pinpointed an outright winner.
Jockey John Reid, who had attempted to make all the running on Alignment, was astonished by the outcome to the Group Three event.
"That's as close as I've seen to a dead-heat. When it gets as close as that they should share the spoils," he said.
But Mrs Stickels explained: "I didn't need a second print today. It's sometimes extremely difficult to set the cursor line exactly on the horse's nose and sometimes it's a flared nostril which makes the difference, which it did today."
Willie Ryan, who took over on Midnight Line after stable jockey Kieren Fallon stayed in Newmarket to partner the highly-regarded Jibe in an unsuccessful debut, feared he had lost. "I would have happily settled for a dead-heat. Both fillies are very game and mine will improve once stepped up to a mile," he said.
Elshamms started a warm favourite, but failed to go through with her challenge and finished a length and a quarter back in third.
Ryan was denied a double when his mount Urgent Swift idled in front to allow Mengaab, under Gary Hind, to snatch a short head verdict in the Caffrey's Irish Ale Handicap.
A set of blinkers helped end a frustrating sequence of defeats for the John Gosden-trained colt, who began his career with a promising third behind Fantastic Fellow.
"We thought he was nice last year but he has had a load of setbacks and the blinkers finally did the trick," said Eoghan O'Neill, assistant to winning trainer John Gosden.
"It took us two months to break him in and he broke my right leg in the process. But I've forgiven him now he's won at last!"
Pat Eddery, bidding for his 12th jockeys' title, kept up the pressure on Kieren Fallon and Frankie Dettori with a double on Sweet Contralto, a filly he bred himself, and First Dance.
Shudder demonstrated that William Haggas has his team back at its peak, after a virus blighted start to the season, by landing a gamble from 20 to 1 to 13 to 2 in the Inkpens Median Auction Stakes.
Kevin Darley, who completed a memorable double at York on Thursday, highlighted by his dramatic Group One dead-heat on the `bitless' Coastal Bluff in the Nunthorpe Stakes, carried on in unstoppable form at Thirsk yesterday.
Darley took his score for the season to 92 when completing a near 57 to 1 treble on Impulse, Sweet Fortune and Grand Estate.
Making all the running under a confident ride from Darley, Grand Estate, trained by Tim Easterby, prevailed by a length from Mick Easterby's strong-finishing Hirst Bridge.
Charlie Brook's hurdler Florid had to settle for third at Clairefontaine yesterday in the Prix des Troenes. Graham Bradley's mount led until collared at the last and was beaten six lengths behind the winner Eloi II.
