Amiloc enters Ascot equation after Goodwood success
Ralph Beckett's charge bagged a brace of Kempton victories last term and had already run out an emphatic winner over a mile at this venue earlier this month.
Stepping up to 11 furlongs, he was sent off the 11-10 market leader under Richard Kingscote, who opted to settle his mount at the back of the field early on.
Favourite backers will have had a few anxious moments as Amiloc appeared to be under pressure a couple of times, but patience proved a virtue as he eventually came back on the bridle and comfortably picked off stablemate Sir Dinadan before pulling clear to prevail by four lengths.
Having been gelded, Amiloc is unable to run in the Betfred Derby, but Royal Ascot will come into the reckoning and he was also cut to 25-1 from 33-1 with the sponsor for the Coral-Eclipse.
Beckett told Racing TV: 'It was not a surprise. Obviously, he's a short-price favourite but when he was racing rather lazily out in the country, I was sort of thinking 'come on pal'.
'But I was never that concerned and then of course when he loomed up on the outside, it was all obvious that it was going to work out that way.
'The second is a good horse, he's tough and I think he's a Queen's Vase horse, and the winner might be a Queen's Vase horse as well, so we've got to shuffle the pack a little bit there and work out what we do next time.'
Asked if Amiloc could have been a Derby contender but for being gelded, the trainer added: 'His work has never suggested so, but obviously he races a lot better than his work. I think he's obviously very talented.
'His dam was tricky and some of them out of her were tricky, Brimham Rocks took a long time to get the hang of things before he became a group horse in Australia, there was a Kingman filly who was half mad as well, so it's never been that straightforward.
'So, gelding him early helped him and we'll see what happens. The (King) Edward VII (Stakes at Ascot) is a possibility and we'll put him in everything, he's in the Eclipse, so we'll see, it's a good problem to have.'
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