JAMIE Spencer’s professional relationship with Luca Cumani has known its ups and downs, but their mutual respect remains firmly in place.

The former champion produced a vintage effort on God Given, who rewarded a very skilful ride by coming late to deny Horseplay and Oisin Murphy by a neck in the Group 2 DFS Park Hill Stakes over the full St Leger distance.

Spencer did his best to restrain God Given (backed down to 5/1 on course) on this occasion and, in sharp contrast to her effort at Goodwood, where she was ridden by Ryan Moore, she did not do too much too soon.

On that evidence a mile and three-quarters seemed to stretch her stamina but she saw it out well here, wearing down Horseplay to gain revenge for a narrow defeat at Haydock and also turning things round with the lightly-raced Goodwood winner Pilaster, who finished a close third but looked very short at 6/5.

“I just thought, if she was to get a mile and six, we had to be a bit more careful and ride her to challenge in the straight,” Cumani said. “Her last race will be the Group 1 Fillies and Mares on Champions Day, then she will go to stud and make beautiful babies!”

The Ascot race will mean dropping back to a mile and a half, which looked sharp enough for God Given at Deauville last time but the winner, Kitesurf, is very smart and the 16/1 about Cumani’s filly may be a shade on the generous side.

HEIR STUNS

More and more it looks as if the best way to approach very valuable sales races is to look firstly at the trainers. Covering all of Richard Hannon’s and Richard Fahey’s would be expensive but Kevin Ryan is not far behind and his 33/1 shot The Great Heir knocked most punters for six in the Weatherbys Racing Bank £300,000 2-Y-O Stakes.

A son of Pedro The Great out of a Raven’s Pass mare, The Great Heir tracked the leaders on the far side before keeping on well in the final furlong to beat Hannon’s Dirty Rascal by half a length, with Fahey’s Wasntexpectingthat three-quarters further away, followed by Joseph O’Brien’s No Needs Never.

The result provided journeyman jockey Andrew Mullen with a massive pay-day and, at prices of 33/1, 25/1, 33/1 and 16/1 about the first four, bookmakers had no complaints, either. It was hard to find anyone offering each-way terms on the first five, though Aidan O’Brien’s 4/1 favourite The Irish Rover, having led a furlong out, did indeed finish fifth.

“The easier ground was the key,” Mullen said of the winner. “He properly lets himself down on it, whereas he saves a bit for himself on a fast surface.”

EGAN AGAIN

David Egan, successful in the last race on Wednesday, carried on in the same vein, winning the opening “Carrie Red” Fillies’ Nursery on Richard Spencer’s 6/1 chance Stay Classy.

The Camacho filly quickened to lead and looked like winning comfortably but Andrew Balding’s Strict Tempo finished very strongly and there was only a neck in it at the line with Winter Light back in third.

Egan has a long way to go to match Andrea Atzeni’s remarkable record on Town moor and the Italian delighted his followers by winning the Mechanical Facilities Handicap on 11/2 shot Another Eclipse. Lope De Vegas’ offspring have been doing well lately and this was another winner for him, the four-year-old getting up close home to beat Finniston Farm and Aquarium.

“He’s a very talented horse but a bit of a thief and should have won more races. Getting stopped at one stage probably helped him,” trainer David Simcock remarked wryly.

Backers were left hoping for better things on Friday as Richard Fahey’s Picture Not Sound and Paul Hanagan took the closing DFS Handicap at 20/1.

A brief respite had looked to be on the way when 7/2 favourite Kenny The Captain led inside the final furlong in the Silk Series Lady Riders’ Handicap but Jessica Cooley, claiming 7lb in this pro-am sprint, got Daniel Loughnane’s 12/1 chance Big Lachie up in the final 100 yards.