Syphax best in the Tattersalls Acomb

Syphax swooped late to spring a 16/1 surprise in the Tattersalls Acomb Stakes at York.

For much of the seven-furlong contest recent Godolphin purchse Best Of Days looked set to justify 10/11 favouritism, travelling strongly and hitting the front approaching the furlong marker.

However he failed to put the race to bed once let down by William Buick as the eventual winner and Lockheed began to close.

It was Syphax who was to throw down the telling challenge, despite looking green for much of the contest, responding gamely to Jamie Spencer's urgings to hit the front in the dying strides and score by a head.

Winning trainer Kevin Ryan said: "He's a lovely horse and has a great temperament. On his first run he was very green and clueless.

"Jamie is tremendous on horses like this. He holds them together and lets them find their stride.

"He's just a big baby and could be a very exciting horse. He's by Arch and he's Breeders' Cup eligible. That was always at the back of our minds and is why we stepped him up so far, so quick. You need to find out now.

"That's not set in stone, but he is a very exciting horse."

Ryan went on: "We would never have run him if we didn't think he was a very nice horse. We bought him for £100,000 from the breeze-ups in France and we weren't going to leave him behind.

"Jamie is as cool as ice and didn't rush him.

"Whether he's mentally ready for something like the Breeders' Cup, I don't know. If he tells us he's ready, we'll think about it. If not, we'll give him time. We're not going to ruin him just to run in the Breeders' Cup.

"We have a lot of faith in the horse, but he's raw. It was a big step forward from a maiden and he should learn plenty from it. We'll get him back to Hambleton Lodge, give him a nice rest and see where we go."

Hugo Palmer said of the runner-up Best Of Days: "The winner has made his run from nowhere near us and came too late.

"I think both the horse and jockey were going to win hands and heels, but the winner has got us at the last minute. Horses don't learn a lot when they win by six lengths, but he should learn from this. The winner will probably learn a lot as well.

"I think we'll probably look at the Champagne (Doncaster) and then the Dewhurst (Newmarket)."

Sky Bet introduced the winner into their market for the QIPCO 2000 Guineas at 25/1 on the back of his Group Three success.

Spokesman Michael Shinners said: "All the pre-race talk centred around Best Of Days but Syphax did well to win despite still showing signs of inexperience and is a very interesting prospect for the Kevin Ryan team."

Lockheed finished on the heels of the front two for William Haggas, the trio clear of the remainder.