Pina Sonata shines in Sceptre Stakes Pina Sonata struck in Group-race company for the first time when landing the Japan Racing Association Sceptre Fillies’ Stakes at Doncaster. The James Fanshawe-trained four-year-old won the Listed Snowdrop Fillies’ Stakes at Kempton on her seasonal reappearance and was then a tailed off last of seven runners in the Princess Elizabeth Stakes on ground that did not suit. Dropped back to seven furlongs after not staying a mile at Ascot, she raced handily in midfield before she was switched to the outside by Danny Muscutt and began to make headway, hitting the front as they approached the furlong marker. The 12-1 shot stayed on strongly to run out a relatively comfortable one-and-a-half-length winner from Touleen, with The Prettiest Star a further half-length behind in third. Muscutt said: “She scaled lofty heights on the all-weather and then during the summer we’ve tried to get her to transfer back onto the turf. “The drop in trip has helped today and she’s been contesting some quite hot races. It wasn’t the plan to land in front at Ascot, she just didn’t see out the mile there, but coming back a furlong we were hopeful she would find a better rhythm with more tempo and a big field of fillies and mares. She got a nice tow into the race and she’s put them to the sword nicely.” Inishbeg (33-1) was another horse to benefit from dropping back in trip to the Betfred City Of Doncaster Handicap. Gelded this summer, the Kevin Ryan-trained son of Ghaiyyath was tailed off when last seen in the rearranged Silver Bowl at Carlisle in late May. But he showed his true colours on the final day of the St Leger Festival under 3lb claimer Jack Nicholls, beating Flight Control by three-quarters of a length. Ryan said: “He started out with plenty of promise at the start of the season but then he just disappointed. We felt he wasn’t concentrating and doing things the wrong way around so he got gelded and he’s really turned a corner for that. “He travelled great but switched off nicely as well. He raced the right way around and Jack’s just felt that if something had come to him he would have gone away again.” Valedictory delighted favourite backers in the £70,000 Betfred Mallard Handicap. John and Thady Gosden’s stayer failed to fire over two miles at York last month, but dropping back in trip – and with a visor replacing blinkers – he obliged as a 7-4 market leader under Robert Havlin, with Ernst Blofeld just under two lengths behind in second. Havlin said: “It’s probably his best trip, a mile and six (furlongs). He can be a little bit wayward at home sometimes. “I think the changing to the visor has been the making of him. Looking at the race they were all gallopers and we went no pace. We walked round and it turned into a bit of a dash and he was the quickest out of the lot of them.” Callum Rodriguez secured a double on the card, partnering Ancient State (9-2 favourite) to win the Land Of Lights Festival At Gullivers Handicap for trainer Adam Kirby and then joining forces with Hamad Al Jehani’s 5-2 joint-favourite Blue Brother in the Betfred ‘The Classic Bookmaker’ Handicap.
