Decorated Knight slays Winter Derby Trial rivals at Lingfield

Decorated Knight came out on top after a fine finish to the Betway Winter Derby Trial at Lingfield. Arab Spring looked to have cut loose once long-time leader Our Channel cried off at the top of the home straight. Ryan Moore's partner still held an advantage late on, but the Andrea Atzeni-ridden Decorated Knight (9-2) came fast and late on the far side to take the Listed honours by a short head. Battalion stayed on for third place, another length and a quarter away. Decorated Knight, trained by Roger Charlton, was making his all-weather debut on what was his first start since he won a Group Three at Leopardstown last July. Atzeni said: "He's a horse that's getting better as he gets older. "He did it quite well. The horse hasn't run since July so I didn't give him a hard time.He did it quite well in the end." Decorated Knight could run in the Winter Derby itself or might even go out to Dubai. Harry Charlton, the trainer's son and assistant, said: "He'll take a bit of stopping in the Winter Derby. "The other option is the Jebel Hatta (Meydan) on March 4. "It's a prep race for the Duty Free on Dubai World Cup night. "Depending on how the Jebel Hatta went, you could consider running in the Duty Free. "That's quite a valuable proposition for a Galileo entire, who is very closely related to Gleneagles."