TREBLES all round was the cry as Andrew Balding and Oisin Murphy struck on All-Weather Finals day, the highlight came when Berkshire Shadow wore down leader Wizard Of Eye and withheld the late challenge of Chichester (Keith Dalgleish/Kevin Stott) to win the Mile by three parts of a length.

The 2021 Coventry Stakes winner drew a blank last year but has now won both starts as a four-year-old, adding to a listed win at Wolverhampton by taking this valuable prize as the 7/4 market leader.

Three-Year-Old

This six-furlong contest saw Desert Cop (Andrew Balding/Oisin Murphy) springing an 11/1 surprise from favourite Shouldvebeenaring (Richard Hannon/Sean Levey). The winner was always prominent and burst to the front just over a furlong out to win readily by a length and three quarters lengths despite veering right in the dying strides.

Desert Cop, unraced as a juvenile, is bred to be a decent sprinter, being a full-brother to Epsom ‘Dash’ winner Desert Law out of a listed-winning daughter of Blue Siren, who was first past the post in the 1994 Nunthorpe Stakes. He’d look a good thing if running under a penalty but should make his mark at a higher level given his rate of progress.

Middle Distance

Notre Belle Bete (Andrew Balding/Oisin Murphy) and Base Note (Simon & Ed Crisford/) dominated the finish of the Middle Distance Final, with the former steering the straighter course to prevail by a length after leading against the stands rail in the straight. The pair came well clear, with six lengths back to the toiling Harrovian.

Sent off at 9/4 favourite, Notre Belle Bete was snapping a losing run stretching back nine runs. He travelled well and impressed with how quickly he put the race to bed, so while previously looking hard to place, he now has more opportunities having proven his stamina for a mile and a quarter.

The Listed Burradon Stakes produced a fine finish in which Dear My Friend (Charlie Johnson/James Doyle) and Flight Plan (Karl Burke/Danny Tudhope) pulled clear of the field in the final furlong, with the former gaining victory by a neck.

The winner was hampered early in the race and did well to overcome that issue, which left him less than ideally placed.

The winner will benefit from a return to 10 furlongs on this evidence and has an entry in the Dante Stakes at York next month.

Marathon

Veteran Rainbow Dreamer (Alan King/Hollie Doyle) proved too strong for his rivals in a modest renewal of the Marathon, giving Fleurman (Olly Murphy/Kevin Stott) five years and a length beating in a race where stamina came to the fore.

The pace set by Earlofthecotswolds and Withhold saw the field split, and it was a trio who raced at the rear in the early stages who eventually filled the first three places. The winner, who was returned at 10/1, has now gained his last nine wins on artificial surfaces.

Fillies’ And Mares’

Queen Aminatu (William Haggas/Cieren Fallon) was most progressive at the back-end of her three-year-old season, winning seven-furlong listed contests at Lingfield and Deauville, and she carried that improvement forward in taking the Fillies’ & Mares Final with a power-packed finish, hitting the line hard to beat Aramis Grey (Rae Guest/) by a length and a quarter, with the Ado McGuinness-trained Hodd’s Girl running a cracker to dead-heat for third in a race that turned into a dash for home after a moderate early pace set by the outsider Smiling Sunflower.

JOHNNY Murtagh was on target at the All-Weather Championships consolation card at Lingfield, saddling the winner of the All Weather Vase Mile Handicap in the shape of Final Voyage (Billy Loughnane).

A five-time winner on artificial surfaces for James Tate, Final Voyage has proven a consistent sort for new connections but was gaining his first win for Murtagh having joined the yard before the start of the 2022 flat season.