Botagoz (Ire)

Taking on her elders while stepping up in trip for Friday's G3 Hoppings Fillies' Stakes at Newcastle, Nurlan Bizakov's Botagoz (Mehmas) continued her upward trajectory with a last-gasp win. Two-for-two before finding her smart peers Lilt and So Regal too sharp at a mile in York's Michael Seely Memorial last month, the Roger Varian-trained daughter of Bocca Baciata (Big Bad Bob) needed every yard of this 10-furlong trip to overhaul last year's winner Diamond Rain (Shamardal) and prevail by a short head. There was a 3 1/4-length gap back to...

Friday's Listed Michael Seely Memorial Fillies' Stakes at York was a Coronation Stakes trial in all but name and there was a clear-cut winner in James Wigan's Lilt (Lope De Vega) with Royal Ascot looming. Coming into the deep mile contest off a Doncaster maiden in October, the 13-2 shot was delivered with a telling surge by Tom Marquand to overwhelm Cheveley Park Stud's upwardly-mobile So Regal (Kingman) and score by 1 1/2 lengths. There was another two lengths back to Nurlan Bizakov's unbeaten Botagoz (Mehmas) in third. "She was a...