LINGFIELD rarely takes centre stage in British racing, despite having a much larger than average share of the fixtures than any of the major tracks, but its picturesque turf course was very much the focus on Saturday with the Oaks and Derby Trials helping to put some of the missing pieces of the Epsom puzzle into place.

The fillies’ race was an interesting affair, if not an especially strong one on paper, but it produced an impressive winner in the shape of John Gosden’s Anapurna, who drew right away from her rivals to win by six lengths and put herself firmly in the Oaks picture.

Her dam, Dash To The Top was runner-up in the Yorkshire Oaks, and her grandam is a daughter of the top-class miler Milligram, who was beaten only by the superstar Miesque in the 1000 Guineas before winning the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot.

A daughter of 1000 Guineas winner One In A Million, she enjoyed her finest moment when gaining revenge on Miesque in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot later that year. As a daughter of Frankel, and from such a talented distaff line, she very much looks the part on paper, and while there is some temperament on both sides of her pedigree to go with the brilliance, she looked an excellent prospect on the whole.

She did tend to come on and off the bridle here, but this was her first proper race having won an ordinary polytrack maiden on her previous start, so it’s best to put any such quirk down to residual greenness at this stage, accepting that her dam was as tricky as she was talented.

John Gosden holds a very strong hand in the Oaks in terms of what’s happened in the trial races, with Chester Oaks winner Mehdaayih shading favouritism. About Anapurna’s win on Saturday, he expressed his delight given her lack of turf experience, saying:

“She has only raced on the all-weather, and it’s been so dry she has not even worked on the turf this year. I like the way she changed her legs to come down the hill correctly. She galloped out strongly and it was a really good trial effort.”

Asked if she had definitively put her name in the hat for Epsom, he added: “We will see how she is over the next few days. If she takes it well and she is in great form, she is in the Oaks already that would be a strong possibility. We’ve got some lovely fillies by great owner-breeders.” Anapurna is owned by Helena Springfield Ltd.

Anthony Van Dyck and Ryan Moore race clear to win the Lingfield Derby Trial Photo Healy Racing.

WHILE John Gosden can be happy with where he is at with his fillies and the Oaks, the trainer’s Derby squad looks thin on the ground, with Too Darn Hot heading back to a mile after his second in the Dante at York on Thursday.

Gosden was at least able to joke: “We’re surrounded!” after yet another Ballydoyle colt had landed a recognised trial in the shape of Anthony Van Dyck.

The Lingfield Derby Trial has not been hugely influential in recent years, but since 1983 four winners - Teenoso, Slip Anchor, Kahyasi and High-Rise - have gone on to win the Derby.

Anthony Van Dyck looked an above-average winner, predictably relishing the step up in trip, and connections were keen to point out that he will improve for the run having been held up earlier in the spring. Ryan Moore’s assessment was a glowing one, describing the horse as having travelled beautifully the whole way, and went on to add:

“He took me there very comfortably. Like Aidan said, he would probably need the run today and, for me, he had a little bit of the blow at the two, but once I grabbed hold of him, he got done what he had to do. He is a nice horse to have and will definitely improve for the run.”

Paul Smith echoed the sentiments, but perhaps the most telling statement of all came when he added the coda: “He would be up the pecking order”.

That little nugget is probably a bigger clue to his chances than the praise naturally lavished on all the Coolmore contenders, and for my part I thought it was an especially likeable performance, as he came round the bend on the inside while his main rival had a better natural line for home. It caused Anthony Van Dyck to have to work his way across to throw down his challenge.

That he may have blown up before putting daylight between himself and the placed horses is even more meritorious, and his ability was never in question given what he’d achieved over seven furlongs last year.

Of the vanquished, the placed horses need no excuses, but look short of top class, but I’d mark up Eagles By Day, who travelled as well as anything in the race, but did so with a bit too much enthusiasm and faded late in the day. It could be argued that he didn’t stay, but given his dam is Missunited, a Galway Hurdle winner who landed the Lillie Langtry and Saval Beg Stakes over a mile and three-quarters, and who was famously beaten a short-head by Leading Light in the 2014 Gold Cup, the chances are that he will simply need more time and experience to tap into that stamina reserve.

One thing is for sure, if he has developed a fraction of his dam’s toughness, he will more than pay his way for trainer Michael Bell.

IN truth, Ascot’s two-day fixture largely offered racing of a calibre slightly removed from its usual quality, but the Victoria Cup is one of the better handicaps of the season, and once again quality came to the fore, as it tends to when conditions aren’t extreme in Berkshire.

There are a series of valuable seven furlong and mile handicaps starting here and ending in October which all have similar prestige, and a horse with a liking for Ascot can be campaigned almost entirely around these races, Cape Byron beat Lincoln runner-up Kynren, who shows what niche events these are by repaying each-way support for the eighth time in his last nine starts, all but one of them coming in what could be termed Heritage Handicaps, but the eyecatchers on the day were Kaeso and Blue Mist, who haven’t yet been pigeon-holed by their record in such races, which gives them a potential edge over the usual suspects next time.

Kaeso was arguably the best backed horse in the race, going off a strong 14/1 shot having been as big as 50/1, and he not only ran a stormer to be third, but is eligible for lesser races off his mark of 90 (revised from 87 earlier this week).

He’s clearly thriving, and trainer Nigel Tinkler has a decent record when he sends them south, so future Ascot entries should be noted.

Blue Mist ran on well at the death on Saturday, and is a leading contender for the Royal Hunt Cup next month, being a lightly-raced handicapper who has already posted a course and distance win on his curriculum vitae.

Newland’s Swinton

AT Haydock the Grade 3 Pertemps Network Swinton Handicap Hurdle was won by the top-weight, the Dr Richard Newland-trained Le Patriote (ridden by Sam Twiston-Davies) at 20/1.

There were many incontention at the last including the former Eoin Doyle-trained Fiesole, Sofia’s Rock and previous winner John Constable, as the favourite Mister Fisher faded. The winner finished the best as John Quinn’s Project Bluebook ran on to grab second.