Fillies' Mile result: Musical Times escapes a pocket to stay unbeaten for Appleby and Buick

Musical Times had to work much harder than her 4/9 starting price suggested, but she stayed unbeaten in the bet365 Fillies’ Mile at Newmarket on Friday. William Buick extricated her from a pocket on the rail in the nick of time, and she landed the Group 1 by a length for Charlie Appleby and Godolphin.

Drawn in stall eight, the daughter of Lope De Vega was settled in touch against the rail. That position became a problem as the race developed. Aidan O’Brien’s pair had their say up front, Exceptionally leading on the rail and Haven pressing on the outer, and Buick was boxed in with nowhere to go as the tempo lifted over two furlongs out.

Musical Times finds a way through

Still waiting for room and short of it when making headway over two furlongs out, Musical Times needed a gap to appear. When it did, she showed the class that made her such a short price. Once in the clear, she reeled in the leader and was ridden ahead inside the final 110 yards, winning cosily in the end, and Buick was in no doubt about the tactics that had been deployed against him. “They tried their best to get her beat,” he told ITV Racing.

Appleby admitted there were some anxious moments from the stands. “I could see William looking for the gaps early on,” he said. However, the trainer never lost faith in his filly, adding that Buick “was on the quickest filly” in the race. That made it four from four for Musical Times, and she now heads into the winter as one of the leading fillies of her generation.

Haven runs a huge race in second

The first two pulled three lengths clear of the rest, and the runner-up deserves plenty of credit. O’Brien’s Haven was sent off at 28/1, having only got off the mark at the third attempt last time out. She pressed the leaders on the outer under Ryan Moore and kicked on over two furlongs out, and she looked like springing a surprise until the favourite finally got clear. She kept on gamely, and the daughter of Wootton Bassett looks a filly to keep on side next season.

Andrew Balding’s Forbidden Fire was only just third. The 8/1 shot dwelt at the start and was in rear for much of the race. Oisin Murphy got her rallying inside the final 110 yards, and she snatched a modest third on the final stride by a short head from Lex Victoria.

Rogue Passion disappoints

The big disappointment was Rogue Passion. Edward Bethell’s filly arrived on the back of two wins and was sent off the 9/2 second favourite. However, she dwelt at the start under Rossa Ryan, was towards the rear throughout and never landed a blow. She finished seventh of the eight runners, beaten 15 lengths, and this run is best forgotten.

40/1 Lola De Valence springs Oh So Sharp shock

The biggest shock of the afternoon came earlier on the card in the Group 3 Oh So Sharp Stakes. Rod Millman’s Lola De Valence was sent off at 40/1 for her first try at 7f, and the Havana Grey filly needed every yard of it under Saffie Osborne. She was pushed along over two furlongs out, made headway over one out and got up inside the final 110 yards to beat Andrew Balding’s Sweltering by a neck, with Topaz a head back in third. The 7/2 favourite Siena Storm could only finish fifth.

“I was hoping that she would finish in the first four, as we do think a lot of this filly,” said Millman, who had seen her get stuck in soft ground in the Dick Poole before finishing fourth at Fairyhouse. “We are only a little yard, but if we get the right horse we can do it.” The Grangemore Stud homebred is likely to have done for the season, but she now has a Classic target: “We will probably come back for the 1,000 Guineas as she has just won a Group Three.”

Mussab breaks the track record in the Cornwallis

The card opened with an all-Yorkshire finish to the Group 3 Cornwallis Stakes. Richard and Peter Fahey’s Mussab (8/1) came from towards the rear on the far side from stall one, hit the front inside the final furlong under Oisin Orr and just held off Geoff Oldroyd’s In The Black by a nose. Balding’s Fast Track rallied for third. The winning time of 56.98s, albeit wind-assisted, broke the two-year-old track record, and it completed a hat-trick for the colt, who won a Listed race at Ayr last month.

The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Keeneland is now on the agenda. “He has an unbelievable attitude, he walks round like a pony and fingers crossed, if all is OK with him tomorrow the Breeders’ Cup is the plan with him,” said Peter Fahey. “He’s still progressing and strengthening up every day and he’s a horse who will be very exciting again next year.”

Never So Brave leads a Balding one-two

Balding’s day got a whole lot better in the Group 2 Challenge Stakes, where he saddled the first two. Never So Brave (4/1) took a keen hold under Oisin Murphy but led a furlong out and kept on well to hold stablemate Flora Of Bermuda, the 85/40 favourite, by a neck. Charlie Appleby’s Time To Turn was a short head away in third after being checked approaching the final furlong. The five-year-old won the City of York Stakes in August last year but had been out of form since, finishing only sixth in the Park Stakes at Doncaster last time.

“Everything that could go wrong in every race he’s run this year has gone wrong so far, but it has worked out perfectly today,” said Balding, who mentioned Hong Kong as a possible target. The one-two also boosts his bid for a first trainers’ championship in his title race with Aidan O’Brien, though he is not counting any chickens just yet. “If we’re still the same after Champions Day then I’ll start to get excited, but I wouldn’t dare say it will be.”