Skiffle the highlight as Buick wins 4 Skiffle stated her case for Royal Ascot as she put the icing on the cake of a magnificent four-timer for William Buick at Goodwood. The daughter of Dubawi shadowed The Black Princess in the Veolia Height Of Fashion Stakes and readily took that one's measure inside the final furlong to open her account going way by a length. The Height Of Fashion is normally regarded as a trial for the Investec Oaks but following her clear-cut triumph, connections were quick to rule out an Epsom bid for the Godolphin-owned filly. Trainer Charlie Appleby said of the 5-1 winner: "We've always liked her and she's a filly that was going to appreciate a bit of time. Sh e lengthened well and has a nice future, and the Ribblesdale Stakes makes sense timing-wise. "Remember she only ran in a maiden a fortnight ago and we feel after speaking to Will that a step up to a mile and a half should eke out some further improvement." Yalta could hardly have provided a more exciting start to the May Festival when scorching home on his debut for Mark Johnston and Buick in the NJS Group EBF Novice Stakes. The dogs had barked his name around the bookmaking offices through the morning and although easy to back on course, he proved much too good for the odds-on Afandem. Buick ensured the 5-2 shot was swiftly out of the gate and able to bag the stands rail, and the combination made the rest to come home two lengths clear of Repton, with Afandem nosed out of second spot. Johnston had no hesitation in naming the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot as the big target for the son of Exceed And Excel, for which he was handed a 14-1 quote by Paddy Power. "He's one of our better ones and we've known that right from the beginning," said the Kingsley House handler. "But he had a small setback and we decided not to run him in his intended introduction. He's certainly a candidate for Royal Ascot, where the Coventry would be the most likely race. We could run him again beforehand." The winner's time of 1m 12.91s was four spots off the standard and backed up clerk of the course Seamus Buckley's description of ground that was riding on the easier side of good. Johnston and Buick completed a double when Bathos benefited from an enterprising ride to take the Wright Joinery Company Handicap. The 17-2 winner had, in Johnston's view, "not enjoyed the rub of the green" in his two previous starts this year. The trainer observed: "It was nice the way he found another length when the second horse looked like coming to take him. Everything in his last two races went wrong, especially at Wolverhampton when he fell out of the stalls. It was a good move by William to take it up early and grab the initiative." Can't Change It confirmed his liking for the course when running out the cosiest of scorers in the winnerevents.com Handicap. Fresh and bouncing after a lengthy break since scoring at Lingfield, the well-backed 7-1 shot cruised behind pacesetting Arnold Lane, with Jamie Spencer patiently biding his time for a gap to appear. Once seeing the necessary daylight, the grey willingly put the race to bed to earn a 25-1 quote for the Royal Hunt Cup from Coral. David Simcock must wish the Hunt Cup was run at Goodwood, where Can't Change It has run several good races. The trainer explained: "He was unlucky here twice last season, including at the big meeting, and his work leading into today has been excellent. He's travelled like a fresh horse and this gets him into the valuable races ahead." A stoney silence greeted 16-1 chance Albahar when he came home unchallenged in the Construction Day Handicap, making a mockery of his welter burden of 9st 10lb and providing Buick with the second leg of his four-timer. The Chris Gordon-trained grey powered four and a half lengths clear of Rayvin Black, with 2-1 favourite Wolf Of Windlesham back in third. There was no better-bred runner here than Atone, a full-sister to six-times Group One winner Midday. Sir Michael Stoute's charge, owned by Khalid Abdullah, had finished last on her Sandown debut but put that behind her with a short-head verdict over Pleasure Dome at the end of a confidence-building masterclass from Ryan Moore. Stoute's travelling head lad George Galecki said: "She was shouting in the horse box leaving the yard, but apart from that behaved impeccably. She took a bit of time to pick up, but she's come along well since Sandown. We have to be pleased."
