Change of plan pays off for Angel Bleu team in Vintage Stakes

A quick reappearance proved no barrier to success for Angel Bleu, as Frankie Dettori steered Ralph Beckett’s colt to victory in the Unibet Vintage Stakes at Goodwood.

Runner-up in the Listed Pat Eddery Stakes at Ascot on Saturday, the Dark Angel youngster was sent off at 100-30 to go one better in this Group Three contest just three days later.

Having sweated up on the way to post, Angel Bleu raced enthusiastically for much of the race, but quickened up smartly in the rain-softened ground once popped the question by Dettori.

He did hang quite badly rightly when delivering his challenge, interfering with The Acropolis in the process.

The previously-unbeaten Coventry Stakes winner Berkshire Shadow (13-8 favourite) was doing his best work at the finish, but Angel Bleu had enough in reserve to hold him at bay by three-quarters of a length.

Beckett said: “Frankie got off him on Saturday and said ‘he’s been busy, give him a break’, so I thought we should leave him alone.

“(But) I fed him on Sunday and I looked at him sideways and thought ‘you don’t look like you’ve had a hard race to me at all’.

“I jogged him up and he bounced up the yard, (owner) Marc Chan’s racing manager called me up and said ‘why don’t we geld him now and send him to Hong Kong in the autumn, he can go there and have a good time’ – he was a little surprised when it rained and we decided to declare him!

“If we hadn’t declared and the field had fallen apart like this, I’d have been really, really cross with myself. With the rain last night I could hardly believe my luck.”

“He like a bit of juice and he likes soft ground, we’ll think about the Dewhurst now I should think.”

Of the Andrew Balding-trained Berkshire Shadow, rider Oisin Murphy said: “Off a slow pace he relaxed very well, but took a while to get going. When I gave him a kick he stayed on well and hit the line hard.

“I think he needs another furlong, as he saw out the trip really well.” Of the Andrew Balding-trained Berkshire Shadow, rider Oisin Murphy said: “Off a slow pace he relaxed very well, but took a while to get going. When I gave him a kick he stayed on well and hit the line hard.

“I think he needs another furlong, as he saw out the trip really well.”

David Menuisier’s Migration was a ready winner of the Unibet “You’re On” Chesterfield Cup Handicap after throwing down a late challenge.

The five-year-old made light of the heavy ground and built on a promising seasonal debut to strike as 2-1 favourite under William Buick.

Leaving the stalls slowly and racing at the rear of the field for much of the contest, the gelding remained on the far rail as a small group broke off in search of better ground on the stands side and cut through his rivals to gain the lead with half a furlong remaining.

Driven out under Buick, the bay was an eventual two-length winner over Ed Walker’s Caradoc in second and Roger Fell’s Cockalorum a further length and three-quarters behind in third.

“I wasn’t worried, I’m absolutely delighted,” Menuisier said.

“I’ve run him over a mile but I really felt that a mile (and) two (furlongs) is his favourite trip, so it was just a matter of where.

“He should have run at Newmarket the other day but the ground, I felt, was too quick, so I ruled him out.

“He is very straightforward and he has a good turn of foot so he can get out of trouble, what he doesn’t like is having to do too much.

“About two furlongs out I was thinking ‘come on William’, but he probably felt that he had a massive tank underneath him.”