LIKE everyone else, Andrea Atzeni was impressed by Expert Eye, while Stradivarius’ triumph was ‘straightforward’. However, on a day of major surprises, the young Italian was quite astonished by Breton Rock’s 50/1 success in the Qatar Lennox Stakes.

Drawn wide in stall 15, Breton Rock did not follow Librisa Breeze by tacking across to the rails. Predictably, the front-running Home Of The Brave made the most of his berth in stall 1 and was soon making the running in his usual fashion. Runner-up in this race last year, he takes plenty of passing and fought back when uneasy favourite Limato and Suedois came at him.

All the while, Atzeni and Breton Rock were making ground on the outer and a sustained burst in the final furlong carried them to the front, the seven-year-old scoring by half a length as Home Of The Brave rallied gamely to hold Suedois and Limato in the dying strides.

Breton Rock has been taking on the best over seven furlongs for quite some time but this was his finest performance and one that left trainer David Simcock delighted.

“He’s won two Group 2s previously but God, did we expect that? No we didn’t!” he exclaimed. “He won the Criterion Stakes and the Park Stakes last year so he’s very useful but we’ve looked after him and never run him with the word ‘firm’ in the going description. He’s a favourite at home and the lad who looks after him, Irkin, absolutely worships him.

“It’s brilliant for John Cook, who was my very first owner 13 years ago. He buys a yearling every year and he bought Breton Rock for £20,000.”

As Cook related, there is also a nice story behind the name. His grandson is called Brett and lives in Brittany, making him a Breton, while the horse is out of a Rock Of Gibraltar mare.

Remarkably, Atzeni has already ridden 24 Goodwood winners, 10 of them at the festival. Stradivarius soon made it three off the reel on this extraordinary day, with Shenanigans in the last completing a massive four-timer.

When the afternoon began, Queen Elizabeth’s Fabricate, 20/1, was awarded the Matchbook Betting Exchange Handicap over 10 furlongs on the disqualification of Dark Red.

It may fairly be said that Michael Bell, also responsible for Big Orange, had mixed emotions over a couple of hours but he and Ed Dunlop remained calm as the stewards’ inquiry continued, the latter’s Dark Red having veered left and bumped Fabricate and Adam Kirby close home after causing an earlier knock-on effect when impeding the favourite Garcia.

Oisin Murphy was found guilty of careless riding and stood down for eight days.

On a day the bookmakers are unlikely to forget, Breton Rock was not the longest-priced winner at 50/1 because Gary Moore’s unconsidered youngster Thechilden’strust took the Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Maiden at 100/1.

John Quinn’s El Astronaute then rediscovered his spring form to claim the sprint handicap under Jason Hart at 33/1 before Atzeni (who else?) rounded things off on Roger Varian’s fairly-treated Shenanigans, 15/2, in the fillies’ handicap.

Tylicki enjoys

Perth success

THE were two Irish-trained winners at the Perth evening meeting on Tuesday. Madeleine Tylicki enjoyed a success in Britain when Jack The Hat stayed on well under Will Kennedy to win the two and a half mile handicap chase at odds of 18/1 from the favourite Cuirassier Dempire.

Earlier in the card, Paddy Griffin was on the mark again when 5/4 favourite Chitu ran out an easy winner having 14 lengths to spare over the Gordon Elliott-trained Rendezvous Peak in the two-mile novices’ chase under jockey Adam Short.

There was no luck for Gordon Elliott on the night with his five runners. Jamie Codd partnered two seconds in Skeaping and Rendezvous Peak and a disappointing favourite in the last on Lake Malawi.