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Bay City rollers upset the big guns in an attritional Coolmore Coronation Cup at Epsom.
Calandagan, the world’s highest-rated turf horse of 2025, went on to post a quality field of six runners with last year’s narrow winner Jan Bruegel and the latter’s dual Derby-winning stable in the top three in the Lambourn Stakes.
Up front Ballydoyle pacemaker Illinois reluctant, Lambourn scored at a Tottenham corner by Wayne Lordan, sending George Scott’s Bay City Roller (17/2) into the hands of his closest pursuer Oisin Murphy.
With Lambourn clinging to the far rail, Murphy kept his mount upright in the middle of the track and it proved to be a masterstroke as he quickly gained ground as he preferred to pull 10 lengths clear of the chasing pack.
Jan Bruegel never made the stage but late on to beat Lambourn into the runner-up spot, Calandagaan also struggled in rain-soaked conditions, which saw him finish a distant fourth.
More to follow…
Pearson stars in Sparks Fly with a brilliant ride
A buccaneering ride for Laura Pearson has paid dividends with Sparks Fly being a superb 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-up fourth behind dual Derby hero Lambourn in the Huxley Stakes at Chester last month.
Sparks Fly soon assumed his traditional pacesetting role and rounded the front on the home turn, at which point Pearson made the bold call to stick to the far side of the track while the rest of the field approached the near rail.
It soon became clear that he had made the right call, as the chasing pack raced relentlessly on the Sparks Fly rain-softened ground and handed Love Dynasty an eight-and-a-half-length post.
Sparks took them home in the Fly Princess Margaret Stakes.
Of the decision to stay on the long rail, Pearson said: “I think I turned around twice to double check! I just have to be brave and he’s a trooper, he doesn’t need horses around to run like that.”
He added: “I’ve never been as confident going into a horse race as I am today, there was no doubt in my mind.
“After yesterday I was probably expecting them to be in the middle, but from my point of view my filly always hangs to the left so it didn’t make sense to go up only to have her go down.
“He’s a gentleman who loves to be up front but he doesn’t have to, he just loves his own company and he enjoyed it today.
“I made sure I had a few checks and from about a (furlong) and a half I knew I had them covered.
“You never know how far they are when it’s like that, but it worked out well.”
Ten Bob Tony left late to deny the witness stand
Bob Toney pulled late to deny long-time leader Witness Stand victory in the inaugural Betfred Tottenham Corner Stakes.
Eight runners went to post for a Group Three race in driving rain and underwent air surgery since his last run and was tongue-tied for the first time as Group Two winner Witness Stand looked back on his best outing in front, with Billy Loughnane quickly bagging the nearest rail.
But when he galloped strongly towards the line, Kieran Showmark made up for the Ed Walker-trained Ten Bob Toney (11/2) with a fading run and he rose in the shadow of the post to win by a head. Poet Master finished third, with the top two in the market – Never So Brave and Alcantor – unable to enter it from behind.
Walker said: “He needed those conditions, it was mega, it was so easy to watch and Kieran gave him a peach.
Ten Bob Tony (right) wins gold at Epsom
“He was pretty relaxed and a couple of fancy horses never got into it so it’s spread out really well.
“He won this race last year (when running as John of Gaunt at Haydock) and we hoped he would go on and have a good year but it never really happened, mainly because it was fast ground all summer. He had a great run at Foret.
“I think we have to pick the battle, annoyingly seven furlongs don’t grow in Group One or Two trees. Foret is his race.
“It’s hard to know exactly what to do with him. Can you go to the Prix Maurice de Ghest if it comes out soft? Here’s York City up seven, but I’d probably go up to a mile rather than drop down to six because we’ve tried.
“If he runs over anything other than seven I’d say it will be a mile and worse horses than him have won Group Ones.”
