Tattycoram lands Lancashire Oaks as Tiffany second again

Tattycoram confined perennial bridesmaid Tiffany to the runner-up spot yet again in the Betway Lancashire Oaks at Newmarket.

Having been placed in four consecutive outings at Group One level before filling the runner-up spot on her seasonal debut in France three weeks ago, the Sir Mark Prescott-trained Tiffany looked to have been found an excellent opportunity to claim her first victory in almost two years in the hands of Luke Morris.

A 5-4 favourite for a Group Two contest transferred to the July course due to ongoing ground issues at Haydock, the six-year-old was soon bowling along in front in a first-time visor and Morris kicked for home with two furlongs to run in an attempt to draw the finish out of his rivals.

But Ralph Beckett’s 11-2 shot Tattycoram, making her first appearance since winning a Listed prize at Goodwood at the start of May, was stronger at the finish under Eddy Greatrex and really asserted late on, with four and a half lengths the winning margin in a course record time.

Speaking from Sandown, Beckett said: “It was a good effort. She was a filly we finished early last year hoping she would develop from three to four and it looks like that is the case.

“She went into a little dip after winning the Daisy Warwick (at Goodwood), hence the two-month break, but I was easy about that and this was always a race that I felt would set up well for her.

“She’s a good filly and we’ll go straight to the Yorkshire Oaks, I would imagine.”

Prescott was not making any excuses for the vanquished favourite, saying: “Mr Sangster’s filly (owner of Miss Justice) was exactly the same distance or slightly further behind us today than she was in Chantilly last time, so the available form is she’s run to form, but I suppose when you’re six you’re not coming forward any more.

“She’s still very good, but not quite good enough. I think she’d be better with a tiny bit (of cut in the ground), but I don’t put that as an excuse, just that beastly Mr Beckett has gone past us!

“We’ll have to have a very broad brush and we’re not afraid to get beaten if it gives us a better chance of winning. You’ve got to try a few different things and we tried her in front today, which we haven’t done before.

“But when they’ve got five seconds to their name, they tend to get six don’t they? Every time you’re second it’s more likely you’re second again, I think.”

James Owen and Marco Ghiani combined to claim top honours in the £125,000 Betway Old Newton Cup with 12-1 shot Sportingsilvermine.

Owen said: “He was caught out wide at York last time and ran a massive race. Marco got off and said he needed a mile and a half and he was keen the whole way today, but he really toughed it out and never looked like getting beat.

“I wish my owner liked hurdles as he’d make some hurdler, but he’s earning his corn and there’ll be plenty more races for him.”

The Newmarket handler had earlier seen his Magnetude officially beaten a nose by the Andrew Balding-trained Mythical Bay (4-1) in a tremendously close finish to the Betway Bet 10 Get 40 Handicap, but having viewed the photograph he looks set to appeal the result.

He added: “It was very close and I’ve looked at the photo in the stewards’ room. Our horse has a definitive line on his nose, you can see the outline of his nose and the winner was very blurred and it just took so long for it to be called.

“With my owners I was quite annoyed how they’d done the photos of the winner before the result was called. I know that’s a racecourse thing and not a BHA thing, but we are thinking about appealing. I just need to look at the photo from the other side, which they’ve yet to show me.”