Christmas comes early for Feilden as she bags first win in Essex

Newmarket trainer Julia Feilden received the Christmas present she had been waiting eight years to arrive when finally saddling a winner at the Essex track.

Fittingly, the success was a family affair as Feilden's daughter Shelley Birkett was in the plate and brought to an end a run of near-misses that stretched back to when the course first opened as Great Leighs in 2008.

After Candesta had overhauled favourite Skidby Mill close home to land the mile 6 handicap, Fellden said: "I've finally got the monkey off my back. We've had no end of near-misses here over the years and it was becoming a bit annoying looking at that 'trainers off course' list in the Racing Post."