Sport

Prime Defender makes the most of his opportunity

A RACE-FIT Prime Defender caught some coveted sprinting prospects on the hop in the Duke Of York Stakes yesterday

Thu May 13 2010 - 01:00

A RACE-FIT Prime Defender caught some coveted sprinting prospects on the hop in the Duke Of York Stakes yesterday. While trainer Barry Hills is particularly familiar with the Knavesmire’s Group Two – the first of his seven wins in the event’s current guise came in 1974 – Prime Defender had never enjoyed a Pattern-level victory despite a string of sterling efforts in defeat.

Now six, the chestnut was fresh from running in Dubai as well as domestically and had won a conditions race at Haydock only last Saturday. Despite the trainer’s record, Prime Defender was 20 to 1 as he had Gimcrack winner Showcasing, the smart Main Aim and Aidan O’Brien’s Australian recruit Starspangledbanner to contend with.

While they all held their chances and finished second, third and fifth respectively, Robert Winston stole a decisive advantage at the furlong pole and kept half a length in hand at the post.

Hills has been impressed with the dedication of Winston, and added: “Whenever I ask him to come down for work days he comes. He has his feet on the ground and you have got to show some loyalty to people and open some doors for them.”

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Winston added: “I don’t get many chances in Group races so I wanted to take my opportunity. I just gave him a little back hander in the last half-furlong but he is a horse I have a lot of faith in and on his day he’s a very good sprinter.”

Henry Cecil’s faith in Timepiece has been unshakeable but it was Aviate who flew past her stablemate in the Oaks betting as she overcame a troubled passage to take the Musidora Stakes.

Cecil sent Timepiece down his familiar Lingfield Oaks Trial route, which he has farmed with the likes of Epsom winners Ramruma and Lady Carla, last weekend but the one-time Oaks favourite paid the penalty for chasing a frenetic pace when beaten into second.

That cleared the way for the fellow Khalid Abdullah-owned Aviate to jet along the rail on the Knavesmire and successfully step up to a mile and a quarter under Eddie Ahern – replacing the suspended Tom Queally. The 11 to 4 winner scraped across the line with a head to spare over the hanging Gold Bubbles, with Michael Stoute’s Eleanora Duse a close-up third. Favourite Cabaret, trained by Aidan O’Brien, finished a disappointing seventh.