Aurel hangs on to continue good run for Ralph Beckett as Rossa Ryan promises much more to come from winner

A great bank holiday weekend for Ralph Beckett's three-year-olds was completed when Aurel hung on by the tightest of margins to win the 1m2f novice stakes.

The race looked set to be a match between the Beckett-trained Soldier Hollow colt and Boatswain, and the pair duly pulled seven lengths clear with just a nose between them.

The victory comes after Beckett trained the first two home in the Listed Cocked Hat Stakes, won by the highly promising Amiloc, on Saturday afternoon and saw Stanhope Gardens advance his Derby claims when breezing to a ready comeback success at Salisbury later that day.

Aurel's jockey Rossa Ryan told Racing TV: "He's still a bit immature mentally, he was giving me everything but needed that rail up the home straight. When I saw Sean [D Bowen, on Boatswain] wasn't driving on, I tried to switch out. I let him use his stride and he got into a fantastic rhythm.

"I think he'll improve as the year goes on as every day he's learning. I could see him progressing again, he's a long-term project and I imagine what he does in this first half of the year will be nothing compared to the second. It's still all a big learning experience."

Race to follow

Hucklesbrook made all to win the feature 6f handicap for Roger Teal and Danny Tudhope. This race was the first leg in a hat-trick for Sergeant Wilko last season, who also scored at the July meeting and Goodwood.

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