Avalon Queen (4/1) made her experience count as she downed 4/7 favourite So Lovely in the Tatler British EBF Maiden Fillies’ Stakes over seven furlongs.
The daughter of Derby winner Masar led the chasing pack behind runaway leader Donna Beauty and, having got first run on So Lovely, she found generously for Billy Loughnane to hold on by a diminishing head. Newcomer Beguiled (16/1) shaped with promise in third, a further length behind.
Trained by Roger Teal, Avalon Queen had performed with credit in her two previous appearances at Newbury, most recently finishing third in a novice at the start of this month.
Teal, who had not had a winner for 42 days, said: “I could not believe it. I just said to the wife, ‘surely one has to go in?’ They are running so well, but it is so frustrating when you are just hitting the crossbar every time. I was just so delighted, especially at this venue. It is my favourite track, with decent prize money, and it is a good way to get off the cold list.
“Jason Watson rode her the last day and lost his iron in the final furlong. To Jason’s credit, he rode the last furlong with no iron, but I did not even realise he had lost it, he is that good. Jason said to me when he came in, ‘she is black type,’ so we targeted this race and now we can look to the future.
“Billy The Kid is riding on the crest of a wave, and when he hit the deck earlier, I thought, ‘Oh, just my luck.’ But Billy gave her a smasher and used the advantage of the experience from her two runs.
“She will probably step up to a mile. Her mother is a Group Two winner over a mile and a quarter, while she is by Masar. We will go for one more run this year, try to find her the right race, and then put her away.”
Paul Smith said of So Lovely: “I am delighted with her. She is a lovely filly with a super temperament. She is still a baby and still learning, but she has plenty of ability. Ryan was very complimentary about her. She has a lovely, relaxed attitude. She will come forward for the run and is a nice prospect.”
Thady Gosden, co-trainer of Beguiled, said: “It was a very nice debut. With the weather we have had, she has only ever worked on the all-weather at Newmarket, so it was her first run on grass. She was understandably green through the early stages of the race, but William [Buick] felt she was always going to pick up, and she picked up nicely. She will be a lot sharper next time. We will keep her at seven furlongs, but I suspect we will be going up to a mile by the end of the year.”