Fallon Shines With York Hat-Trick

Kieren Fallon was in brilliant form at York yesterday when he booted home a 158-1 three-timer, highlighted by Mullins Bay´s victory in the William Hill Poker Grand Prix Strensall Stakes.

Aidan O´Brien´s four-year-old clearly has a liking for the Knavesmire as he finished second in a hot handicap at the Royal meeting before returning to York to win the John Smith´s Cup.

He stepped up again to successfully bridge the gap between handicaps and Group Three company with a neck verdict over the front-running Andean.

Fallon said: 'He´s a lovely horse and Aidan loved him last year, so much so that he pressed for him to stay in training this year and it´s worked out well. He´s won a lot of money now.

'He improved to win the John Smith´s Cup and he´s improved again since. It´s a long way from handicaps to Group races.'

Maraahel, the even-money favourite on the strength of his close third in the Juddmonte International Stakes 15 days ago, came home in the same position, four lengths behind the principals.

His jockey Richard Hills said: 'He travelled well into the straight but he didn´t pick up - maybe he had a harder race than we thought last time.'

Fallon had been seen to great effect earlier when getting Cross The Line home by a neck in the Trading Trowels Subcontract Brickworks Stakes.

'We´ve always thought he was a good horse and last year we thought the world of him,' trainer Alan Jarvis said. 'Kieren rode him before he ran as a two-year-old and said he´d be a Group horse one day.

'We´ll try and find a nice handicap now before the handicapper gets hold of him.'

'I´ve been using the top jockeys for 35 years but Kieren is a genius,' Jarvis added.

The Fallon treble was completed on Charlie Cool, who was the impressive winner of the EBF Prince Of Wales´s Own Regiment Of Yorkshire Maiden Stakes.

There was a turn-up in the thinkthoroughbred-thinkireland.com Maiden Auction Stakes when 50-1 shot Missoula, well ridden by Saleem Golam, landed the spoils by a length and a quarter from Gracechurch.

However, the result came as no surprise to trainer Mark Tompkins, who said: 'I couldn´t understand why she was 50-1 because I know she was last at Goodwood but it was softish ground.

'She didn´t know a thing that day and she´s radically improved at home since then. She´s not a bad filly and worked really well the other morning and I told everybody I knew to have a few quid each-way on her.'

Wing Collar repeated his course and distance victory of last month in the Patrington Haven Leisure Park Handicap and Tim Easterby´s charge could now be heading for the totesport Cesarewitch.

Red Peony maintained the good run of form enjoyed by her trainer Sir Mark Prescott and jockey Seb Sanders with an easy two-and-a-half-length win over Ebtikaar in the Garrowby Handicap.

Simon Walker was crowned winner of the Bollinger Champagne Challenge for an unprecedented third year in a row after the final leg on the Knavesmire.

He managed only third place in the York race, which was won in great style by Scott Dobson on Jake Black, but it was enough for him to clinch the title with 36 points.

(C) PA Sport