St Leger Festival: Night in Vegas hits the jackpot at Doncaster

There was late money for Eve Johnston Houghton’s colt who was sent off the 5-6 favourite to back up his recent Newmarket win and he did so under a perfectly-timed Charles Bishop ride.

Kevin Ryan’s Dorigo (11-1) and Satellite of Love (11-1) for Clive Cox, were on the front end in the early stages of the six-furlong contest with the favourite tucked in behind.

The latter pressed for home first under Rossa Ryan but Bishop always had Night in Vegas well placed and he took over in the final stages, pushed out for a half-length win from the Cox inmate, with Ryan’s horse a further three-and-a-half lengths away.

It was a second successive win in the race for owners Kennett Valley Syndicates, who banked nearly £160,000 to follow on from Calendar Girl’s victory 12 months ago.

Warming to the Vegas theme, the trainer will continue to roll the dice in search of more big pay outs.

She said: “It’s really hard as a three-year-old to win big money, so you’ve got to win it this year, and then you can go and have fun in black-type races or whatever and try to be clever, but let’s just go for the money,” she added.

“He’s in the Redcar race (Two Year Old Trophy) and he’s also in the seven-furlong Tattersalls October Auction Stakes, it just depends whether we go back to six furlongs or go up to seven, and then I think we’ll probably end up at Ascot for the conditions race on Champions Day.”

In the Group 2 Betfred Park Hill Fillies' Stakes – often called the fillies’ St Leger and run over the same mile-and-six-furlong trip – the market couldn’t decide between Waardah and Prizeland, who vied for favouritism in the build-up.

In the end it was Andrew Balding’s Prizeland who went off the 9-4 favourite but Owen Burrows’ Waardah (5-2) who came home best for the trainer who won the race two years ago with Nakheel.

The winner was wearing a hood for the first time and it paid off for Callum Rodriguez’s mount who ran on well in the closing stages.

John and Thady Gosden’s Danielle (10-3) was second nearly two lengths away for William Buick and Sir Mark Prescott’s long-time leader Consent (13-2), third for Luke Morris on Town Moor.

Buick gained consolation in the next race, the Group 2 Betfred May Hill Stakes, when Musical Times (7-4 fav) defied a late drift and gamble on Balding’s Scommessa Sicura (4-1) to blow the field apart with a seven-and-a-half-length win over Oisin Murphy’s mount.

Aidan O’Brien’s Speckles (10-1) was third for Ryan Moore, who had earlier landed the Pertemps Network Handicap on Brian Meehan’s Bourbon Blues (7-1) who denied the 2-1 favourite, Roger Varian’s Knights Charge and Shane Foley in a photo.

Saffie Osborne took the opening British Stallion Studs 'Carrie Red' EBF Fillies' Nursery on the highly-fancied Speed of Sound (7-4 fav) for trainer Richard Spencer.

Osborne got the filly smartly away and made all for a comfortable one-and-three-quarter-length win over Norton trainer Adrian Keatley’s Angel in My Heart (18-1) ridden by Mikey Sheehy.

She told The Yorkshire Post: "It was really nice to start the week off with a winner, She’s a really lovely filly and I was keen to keep it straightforward, I thought she was the one to beat and she showed her class.

"She’s very straightforward for a two-year-old and knows the job well, very gutsy and she’s going to be a nice horse next year.”

Trainer Tom Clover and jockey Neil Callan teamed-up to win the seven-furlong East Midlands Airport And Jet2 Nursery with the aptly named Fuel the Jet (15-2) and the Gosdens and Buick took the last, the Pertemps Handicap with Devils Peak (2-1 fav). Yorkshire horses, Paddy Neville’s Alfred Wincham and Rossa Ryan took silver at 12-1 with David O’Meara’s My Ballyquin (13-2) next for Danny Tudhope.