3 minute read
Filly continues on an upward curve and there could be more to come.
Percy's Pride came out on top after a photo finish was required to call the winner of the Biowavego Go Beyond British EBF Fillies' Handicap at Ascot.
Starting at 7-2 for the mile-and-a-half contest, the William Knight-trained three-year-old saw off four rivals to prevail and crossed the line just a head in front of Andrew Balding's Goolwa.
The first two home were unchallenged by the rest of the field, with third home Garden Paradise a further seven lengths behind and 9-4 favourite Gwenhwyvar back in fifth place.
"I think she's an improving filly, she's starting to come to hand," Knight said.
"She won at Chelmsford, and even before that, she's just starting to look a bit stronger now.
"She got that mile and a half well, but you could come back to a mile and a quarter if you wanted to. She appreciated that bit of cut in the ground there.
"I just think she's one of those improving fillies, she's from a nice family with plenty of black type so one hopes that at some point that might be the route we're heading towards, but we'll work our way through the handicap system first."
The biowavego.co.uk Handicap went to Passion And Glory, who was an emphatic winner of the 10-furlong contest when coming home six lengths ahead of his nearest rival and completing a good day for Saeed bin Suroor.
Piloted by Ray Dawson and sent to post at 100-30, the five-year-old followed up a comfortable success at Lingfield with another win over the same trip and could now be headed for the Ebor at York in August – a race for which Bin Suroor's Newmarket victor Live Your Dream heads the market.
Robasta claimed a first career success when taking the six-furlong Biowavego Pain Management Device Nursery Handicap for Rob Hornby and Andrew Balding.
The 9-2 chance raced prominently and took up the lead a furlong from home, holding off the rallying Tyson to prevail by a neck on the line.
Alerta Roja secured the third leg of a hat-trick of wins when triumphing in the Biowavego 100% Drug Free Pain Relief Handicap as 4-7 favourite.
Trained by Sir Mark Prescott and ridden by Luke Morris, the three-year-old filly followed up wins at Salisbury and Yarmouth with a one-and-a-quarter-length success from a field of three at Ascot.
"Me and Sir Mark were mulling over it for about 20 minutes this morning, we couldn't decide what way to ride her, but Sir Mark left it in my hands," Morris told Sky Sports Racing.
"She can race a bit freely, I was keen to get her relaxed early and she's then found a nice rhythm.
"She's a filly that stays well so it's played to her strengths.
"She very tough and honest and she's dug deep all the way to the line."
Nigel Tinkler's Isla Kai (4-1) also gained a third consecutive victory when claiming the Biowavego #Goyou Handicap after two wins at Doncaster earlier in the season.
Partnered by Rowan Scott, the gelding made all of the running and was never passed on his way to crossing the line a neck ahead of John and Thady Gosden's Guru.
"We were quite confident he'd run a good race and we're very happy," Tinkler said.
"The rev counter can get a little high if you're not careful, so we took him down steady and fortunately he came back a bit faster.
"He (Scott) gave him a great ride, he's got a lot of confidence in the horse and the horse has confidence in him as well – it's a great partnership."
