'They don't run horses that don't deserve to be here' - Barrons work their magic with Pilgrim in Palace of Holyroodhouse

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Pilgrim gave David and Nicola Barron their biggest win since becoming joint-trainers when enjoying the best journey of all with a smooth success in the Palace of Holyroodhouse Stakes.

Nicola joined her father, a Group 1-winning trainer in his own right, on the licence two years ago, and while both handlers were not at Ascot, the three-year-old's triumph left his owners overwhelmed with emotion, with a first success at the summer showpiece for Huddersfield-based farmer Digby Atkinson.

"They both had very good excuses to not be here," Atkinson said. "Nicola is looking at universities with her daughter, while they have a shedload of runners tomorrow and the day after that David is looking after. 

"We did have quite high hopes of coming here because they don't send horses that don't deserve to be running here. He won at Musselburgh by five and a half lengths and the handicapper walloped him 11lb, although if he hadn't had that he wouldn't have got in!" 

Atkinson added: "We've had one runner at Ascot before, who finished third, so it's a course that's been good to us and it's an achievement to even have a horse good enough to run here."

His wife and joint-owner Anne said: "All the credit has to go to the staff and the people at home as without them we wouldn't be here today. The staff, Nicola and David do all the hard work and it's for them today as much as anything."

Pilgrim was also a tenth Royal Ascot winner for winning rider Joe Fanning, but his first since landing the Ascot Gold Cup on Subjectivist three years ago.

He said: "I thought I'd knackered his handicap mark up at Musselburgh, but we always thought he was a really nice horse, especially as a two-year-old last year. He's shown just how good he is today.

"It's a great place to come and have a winner. This lad has lots of speed and travelled very well. He won quite comfortably and did it easily in the end."

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