Mother-and-daughter training partnership closing in on best-ever season after 12-1 winner

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Joint-trainer Shelley Birkett was pleasantly surprised after Rusheen Boy's shock 12-1 success under Sean Levey in the mile handicap. 

The experienced five-year-old has now scored five times since joining the Newmarket yard in January 2025, and Birkett, who trains in partnership with her mother Julia, said: "It was a bit of a surprise. He normally doesn't like being crowded like that and is better in smaller fields, but he loves the track and he got a nice, clear run.

"Sean gave him a cracking ride and I'm over the moon. He had a lot of niggles as a younger horse with his feet, but we've ironed them out and he's finally got the hang of things. He's a lovely, strong horse, and is better than ever as he's got older."

Rusheen Boy's strike was the 14th winner of the year for the yard, two short of last year's tally of 16. Birkett added: "The aim is to get better each year. We've only got 19 in, so if we can get near that number of winners it would be brilliant."

Pace prevails

Pace Attack continued Sir Mark Prescott's red-hot form with a 9-1 success in the 1m3f handicap.

The three-year-old son of Australia came close to breaking his maiden at the track last time when fourth, but he got the job done here under Luke Morris to provide Prescott with a seventh winner from 17 runners in the past fortnight. 

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