Ascot Saturday

BEAT The Bank rallied in typically determined fashion under regular pilot Silvestre de Sousa to wrest the spoils in Ascot’s big race from Zaaki, but it was clear a couple of strides from the line that something was amiss, and his jockey was at pains to pull him up a quickly as possible.

Sadly, it transpired that he had suffered a complicated fracture to his near-hind fetlock and could not be saved.

It was a huge blow to trainer Andrew Balding, especially as this multiple winner was the first horse to carry the now-familiar blue and white colours of the late Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.

He was the King Power supremo’s favourite horse, and won eight of his 17 races for Balding after being bought privately from the yard of Darren Bunyan after a winning debut at Dundalk in February 2017.

York Saturday

ON a difficult day for the Andrew Balding and the King Power operation, both landed trebles on the day at three different tracks, teaming up at York with Pivoine (Rob Hornby) in the John Smith’s Diamond Jubilee Cup, formerly the Magnet Cup and now the longest continual sponsorship in racing. Pivoine’s best efforts have come over track and trip, and he may not be easy to place after this.

The Group 3 John Smith’s Silver Cup went to Red Verdon for Ed Dunlop in the colours of Ronnie Arculli. The six-year-old, ridden by David Allan, was getting back to his best after a couple of lesser efforts, but had little to spare over placed horses Gold Mount (Ian Williams/Paul Hanagan) and Raheen House (William Haggas/Jamie Spencer), who had been first and second in a similar event at the track last month.

The enhanced value of the Ebor means that the principals may well clash again in August. The winner has gone up 5lbs to 112, the third 2lbs to 111, while Weekender has been dropped 1lb to the same mark after finishing fourth.

Of those, Raheen House makes most appeal, and he comes out marginally best at the revised weights in any case.