KINGS Fete made all of the running en route to taking Group 3 honours in the Betfred Geoffrey Freer Stakes at Newbury.

Brilliantly trained back to full fitness after a long spell on the sidelines, Sir Michael Stoute's inmate served notice he was the force of old when successful in a big race at Goodwood last month. And he continued the good work in Berkshire with a pretty ruthless display under Pat Smullen.

Acutely aware the five-runner race was devoid of pace, Smullen went straight into the lead in Khalid Abdullah's famous silks. Ormito made a little bit of late headway, but Kings Fete (even-money favourite) had all bases covered and was good value for his length-and-a-quarter victory.

Stoute and Smullen had earlier teamed up to good effect when the Abdullah-owned Partitia won the opening fillies' maiden.

The jockey said of Kings Fete: "There didn't seem to be a whole lot of pace in the race. He settled beautifully and the best horse won. He was lovely and relaxed - he's got a bit of class, this horse."

Stoute said: "He is very honest and is a lovely horse. He had to do it the hard way. We thought after Goodwood this was the logical step. He ran in the St Leger as a three-year-old over a mile-six, although he is very effective over 12 furlongs.

"He's in the Grand Prix de Deauville. The main thing is to see how he comes out of this. There are plenty of races for him. We tried him over a mile and five and we know he gets that. We will have to go back and think about things."