TALK about patience paying off. For a while it looked as though Sam Curling might never win a race with Angels Dawn, but now he finds himself on the cusp of a spectacular spring festival double with the mare whose fortunes have changed dramatically over the past year.

Alfie Sweetnam’s daughter of Yeats had shown plenty of ability across the first 13 starts of her career, but a visit to the winner’s enclosure always somehow managed to elude her. A total of seven appearances in bumpers saw her rattle the crossbar with two seconds, two thirds and two fourths, and it was a similar story when sent hurdling.