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| Staff Writer |
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English Oak soared to victory in the Buckingham Palace Handicap, securing a second win of the day for Wathnan Racing and jockey James Doyle.
Trained by Ed Walker, English Oak won by three lengths, with the race primarily dominated by runners coming up the stands' side.
Billyjoh claimed second place out of the 26 runners, followed by Carrytheone, and Mostabshir finished in fourth place.
Formerly owned by David Ward, English Oak was sold to Wathnan Racing before Royal Ascot and holds an entry in the upcoming G1 July Cup.
Walker said: “We’ve believed in him for a long time. Last year he just didn’t get things right in his races for some reason – he wasn’t quite behaving, he was a bit keen and got a bit upset in the stalls. Fair play to everyone at home, they’ve all done such a good job.
“And a big thank you to David and Sue Ward, who owned him up until a few weeks ago – they’ve been huge supporters of the yard. They had Starman and have done wonders for my career.
Doyle said: "English Oak is clearly a classy sort. He travelled superbly through the race. We had a massive advantage on the stands' side – even after going a furlong or so we were a long way ahead of the others.
“He's very speedy. He's got a high cruising speed, he does feel pretty fast. When I let him go there, he quickened up pretty smartly. It will be interesting to see what the guys want to do.
1st- English Oak (Wathnan Racing) Ed Walker / James Doyle
2nd- Billyjoh (Cleartherm Glass Sealed Units Ltd) Mich Appleby / Hollie Doyle
3 Carrytheone (Stuart Mizon) Michael Bell /Pat Dobbs