Stoute four-year-old Ballet Concerto notches first Group win

Not many would have had Ballet Concerto down for a Group 3 success less than five months after failing to make the cut for the Lincoln, but improving four-year-olds are a stock-in-trade for Sir Michael Stoute and the Dansili gelding provides a great example of his craft.

Ballet Concerto won Doncaster's consolation race, the Spring Mile, and he had since taken York's much more valuable John Smith's Cup, but the totepool Sovereign Stakes required another step forward and he needed to be tough in the finish of the afternoon.

After Ballet Concerto had got home by a neck and a short head, Ryan Moore said: "He's been a very progressive horse this year. He won on the first day of the season and has run some very good races before winning again in the John Smith's Cup."