Trip proves no barrier to success for Winter Derby hero Convey

Convey took a step up in trip to 10 furlongs in his stride as he finally landed a Group Three prize as he swooped late and fast to lift the Betway Winter Derby at Lingfield.The five-year-old has always been held in high regard by trainer Sir Michael Stoute and while he has been placed in Pattern company more than once, Convey never managed to get his head in front when it mattered.Sold by Khalid Abdullah for 130,000 guineas at the end of last term, the former Royal Hunt Cup favourite immediately repaid over £56,000 with his last-gasp success in the hands of Andrea Atzeni.The withdrawal of ante-post favourite Mutakayyef through injury doubtless eased the task, while eventual 7-4 favourite Battalion threw away any chance of success when completely missing the break.In contrast, it all went right for Convey and just as it looked as though Pinzolo might hang on, Atzeni's mount came flying down the outside to win by a neck, with Absolute Blast a further head back in third.However, there was a sad postscript as Solar Deity, who appeared to go wrong and was pulled up early on, had to be put down.Atzeni said of the 11-2 winner: "Convey did it quite well. It was his first time over this trip - I wasn't sure that he would get it but Sir Michael was pretty positive and thought he would stay."It worked out perfectly from a bad draw. I actually lost my left iron coming out of the stalls but somehow managed to put it back on. He travelled smoothly and I didn't want to go too early because I didn't know what he was going to do in front."To be fair to the horse, he was always doing enough to win his race and saw the trip out really well."After Mutakayyef came out, I thought that Convey was the best horse in the race. He obviously likes the all-weather, having won on it before, and is a horse that has always had a lot of ability. He has been gelded and could be a decent horse over the summer."Ismail Mohammed, trainer of the runner-up, said: "I was very pleased with Pinzolo. He is a mile-and-a-half horse and ran very well over 10 furlongs today. Finals Day (All-Weather Championships) is a possibility, but we might end up on the grass instead."We will see how he comes out of this race."Royal Birth (8-1) was produced with a perfectly-timed run to snatch glory late on in the Betway Hever Sprint Stakes.Stuart Williams' charge looked like having to settle for minor honours as Lancelot Du Lac and Verne Castle were battling it out.However, jockey Aaron Jones made his challenge between horses and Royal Birth responded in style, edging half a length in front at the line.Lancelot Du Lac was second with Verne Castle third, but 5-4 favourite Pretend failed to feature in the shake-up after breaking slowly and struggling to make up lost ground.Williams said: "Royal Birth has always been a good horse but had soundness issues when he was younger. He hasn't had that many miles on the clock - we have him in a good position at the moment and he is starting to repay us."We planned to come here after his run at Wolverhampton on Monday and, hopefully, we would have won that race first but it didn't pan out as well as it could have done."Aaron gets on really well on the horse and he is a steal for his 3lb claim. It is his first Listed win and he deserves to get more rides."Royal Birth stays six furlongs, so we always knew that he would come home, and he has got plenty of speed. Hopefully, he will head to Finals Day now."You need a decent draw around here and things to fall right. It went right for us today and, if it goes right for us on Finals Day, he will be there with a chance."Lancelot Du Lac's trainer Dean Ivory said: "He has run a fine race. We thought that we had won but there was one flying who did us on the line."It was a bit of a reversal of what happened in the Cleves Stakes, when we just got up, but you have to hang on to Lancelot Du Lac a bit more over five furlongs and drop him on the line. It's all about timing over this trip."We are delighted and I think that six furlongs will suit him better, as older horses sometimes tend to lose that little bit of speed. We will put him away now until Good Friday."