Halford on the mark at Ascot The journey from Ireland paid dividends as Portage powered to victory in the Weatherbys Private Banking Handicap at Ascot. The Mick Halford-trained three-year-old gained compensation for a luckless outing in the Britannia Stakes at Royal Ascot by accounting for some useful rivals in this mile event. It became apparent the 5-1 shot was hitting top gear inside the final furlong as he mastered long-time leader Mutasayyid within a handful of strides to score by a length and a quarter. Halford said: "He had no luck in the Britannia Stakes. Things didn't go his way as he had traffic problems. "We brought him back home and he was in tremendous form so we thought we would come here as the track suited him. "He doesn't do anything in a hurry and we were a bit concerned about the ground. "He will come on plenty for that and be better on better ground. "He will have no problems stepping up another two furlongs. "We will just take small steps with him."
