Haydock Saturday

THE Group 2 Lancashire Oaks saw quite open betting, but Sir Mark Prescott’s Alpinista set a pretty solid standard based on her excellent second to Love in the Yorkshire Oaks, and she ended up proving too good for her rivals, returning at the generous SP of 11/4 under Luke Morris.

She was a late withdrawal from the Pinnacle Stakes last month won by La Lune from Cabaleta, and she would surely have won that given she had that pair in her wake, with Lady Hayes (Roger Varian/Ray Dawson) proving her closest pursuer here. The winning distance was a length and a half.

In truth, Alpinista did not need to improve to score, but the daughter of Frankel shows a good attitude, and there is no reason to think she’s not as good as ever.

She is worth another try in a Group 1, and is a thorough stayer at a mile and a half who will almost certainly prove as good at further if needed.

The Old Newton Cup saw plenty struggle in the ground, notably Alpinista’s stablemate Longsider, but it suited Alounak well, and Andrew Balding’s gelding made his second handicap start a winning one.

He’s often faced stiff tasks at pattern level, and this was a more realistic task, for all victory means he’ll be back up in class next time.