Clive Cox trained The Dragon King to win at Newmarket © Photo Healy Racing
The Dragon King miraculously came from last to first to scoop the £150,000 Tattersalls October Auction Stakes at Newmarket.
Clive Cox’s youngster was not even in the frame as 7-4 favourite Brighton Boy passed eventual third Ruby’s Profit and made his bid for home.
However, flying home at a rate of knots was William Buick aboard the Middleham Park Racing-owned 5-1 chance, to storm to a length success.
Tom Palin of Middleham Park Racing was left speechless with the result and although entered in the horses of training sale later this month, The Dragon King may have earned himself another appearance in the blue and orange of the owners.
Palin said: “That’s not the conventional way to win a race at Newmarket!
“I don’t really know what to make of the entire race, I was kind of wondering how I explain this and thinking it could be a long day if the one I thought had the best chance (out of all the owners runners) had done that.
“He’s a horse who always gives his all and he needed to give his all there, fair play to William for keeping going. For once I’m speechless, I’m lost for words.
“We haven’t won this one before but we’re working our way through them and there’s a couple more to come. I need to speak to Clive and he is in the sale, but he might have given himself a stay of execution there.
“There’s a Group Two Eddie’s Boy was second in behind Charyn (Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte at Chantilly) and we could supplement for that, that could be an option, but I will speak to Clive. This was the race we had in mind, but maybe not now.”
There was a double for Harry Davies aboard David Menuisier’s Ashariba (6-1) in the British EBF Premier Fillies’ Handicap and William Haggas’ Chorus (7-1) in the British Stallion Studs EBF Premier Fillies’ Handicap, while Charlie Appleby’s Secret Theory won the Virgin Bet Best Odds Daily Maiden Stakes at odds of 9-4.
Appleby said: “He’s a nice little horse with a pedigree to die for. There is improvement in him and he’s only come to hand in sort of the last six weeks.
“He’s a horse that has slightly disappointed me over the course of the year and my heart was sort of ruling my head slightly because I love the family and it has been so good to us – I wanted him to be a good horse but he just wasn’t showing it.
“I imagine we will put him away now and have another look in the spring. Will he be a stakes horse? He has a pedigree to be a stakes horse but we will see in the spring.”
There may have been no joy for Nashwa in the feature Sun Chariot Stakes, but her half-brother Nebras made a winning debut in the hands of Hollie Doyle in the Virgin Bet Every Saturday Money Back EBF Maiden Stakes for John and Thady Gosden.
“It was a very pleasing start and he has taken a while to come to himself,” said Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager for owner Imad Al Sagar.
“He went into training quite late and John has brought him on and he’s been very straightforward which is really encouraging.
“The nice thing was he was sort of half-asleep through the race and then picked up nicely as you would want him too. You always hope, but first time you never know and it looked a smart race. When the other horse came to him he then found a bit more and went on.
“We will see how he is and I think in John’s mind he would have liked to have given him another run, but I think he was thinking we might finish second or third and then slot in a maiden so we weren’t chasing one of those in the spring.
“Now I think we have to think about where we want to be and whether he needs it and how he comes out of it. Plans may have slightly changed.”
