Alice breaks Group 1 duck to land proper Falmouth plunge

A wise man once said: "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."

For what seemed like an awfully long time Alice Springs had been trying, but failing, to bag a Group race. Yesterday, at the tenth attempt, she was rewarded, becoming a winner at the sport's highest level in sumptuous fashion, to the delight of connections and the dismay of bookmakers.

In theory the Tattersalls 250th Year Falmouth Stakes looked ripe for Usherette's picking. The apple of Andre Fabre's eye had been mightily impressive at Royal Ascot and started the day a red-hot favourite for the first Group 1 prize of the July festival. As the day went on, that changed.