166 days: relief for Sir Mark Prescott as long losing run is snapped at Yarmouth

One of the longstanding features of the Flat is Sir Mark Prescott-trained horses going on a rampage through the handicap ranks, racking up quickfire sequences that make a mockery of their opening marks.

But this season the trainer has had to endure a losing run stretching back to January, with his string failing to come to hand. However, on Wednesday there was the first green shoot of a revival as Land Of Oz won for the yard at Yarmouth.

The three-year-old's victory in a 1m6f handicap ended Prescott's wait for a winner – a run lasting 166 days and 54 runners – although the trainer was not getting too far ahead of himself.

"One swallow does not make a summer," he said after the victory. "There's nothing wrong with a winner and I'm very pleased with that but we'd like to see them in real form. That will probably come, I've given them enough time."

With blood tests and scopes failing to reveal anything out of the ordinary, the master of Heath House has let the horses come to themselves, and added: "When those horses ran poorly a month ago they were all running off clean scopes and decent bloods. Nothing came to light but we've given them a bit more time and that normally does the trick and we'll see if it has done this time."

A senior member of the training ranks, Prescott has navigated his way through feasts and famines in previous campaigns, notably in 2005, when he had two winners from 21 runners before June.

He said: "I've never had to stop in the middle since 2005, that was the last year I had to do that. Often I've not started because I've thought they're not in good form. That's quite easy to do, but it's harder to start and then stop.

"I never quite made up ground in 2005 but it was pretty decent in the end."

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