'The result was never in doubt' - Perfect Alibi a first Listed win for the King

Monday: Yarmouth

The King celebrated a first winner in black-type company when Perfect Alibi ran out an emphatic winner of the rescheduled Listed Beckford Stakes.

Victory for the daughter of Le Havre was the second in the royal silks since the death of the Queen and came less than a week after Just Fine got the new monarch off the mark at Leicester.

Tom Marquand had been the first to don the royal colours after the Queen's death when he rode Educator to finish second at Salisbury on September 29 but he went one better on the 11-4 favourite.

The success over Pearl Beach in the feature 1m6f contest, which is usually staged at Bath, was the highlight of a treble for William Haggas, boosting the Newmarket’s handler’s chances of landing the trainers' title for the first time.

The Beckford Stakes is only slightly less valuable than Yarmouth’s existing Listed race, the John Musker Stakes in September, with the switch being made to the Norfolk track to allow Bath to undertake remedial work on its racing surface after unprecedented dry weather throughout the summer.

"To win like that in these colours was very special,” said Marquand. “Perfect Alibi wasn't drawn the best but she got a nice tow early into the race. We got shuffled back around the back but when we got rolling in the straight the result was never in doubt.

“It probably looked as good as it felt and you could see by how long it took me to pull up that she’s a proper stayer."

Tafreej and Jim Crowley return after their victory in the 6f novice

Shadwell Estates and Haggas made their presence felt early with the runaway win of Tafreej in the 6f novice.

The gelded son of Shamardal overcame a wide draw to record a first success at the third attempt.

Winning jockey Jim Crowley said: "His dam is a sister to Taghrooda so you would think he would improve over a longer trip next season and he's a nice prospect."

The second leg of Haggas's 50-1 treble was provided by the progressive Sea Speedwell, who sailed clear of her rivals in the straight for a similarly impressive win in the 1m3½f handicap.

The stable's 5lb claimer Adam Farragher did the steering and said: "She misses the break so being drawn wide was a good thing as I could let her slide into the race.

“If she's drawn low she ends up behind a wall of horses. She's enjoyed the step up in trip and the ground. That was a good performance under that weight."

Winning machine

Yarmouth specialist Priscilla's Wish racked up her fifth straight win at the track when justifying 9-4 favouritism in the 7f handicap under Harry Davies.

The 3lb claimer cut his deficit in the apprentice title race to five behind Benoit de la Sayette when scoring for the third time on Charlie McBride’s filly.

Results, replays and analysis

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