FAVOURITE backers were on good terms with themselves after three of the last four market leaders scored at York on Saturday, and the big betting race of the day went to 11/2 market leader Fujaira Prince (Roger Varian/Andrea Atzeni), who battled hard to overcome long-time leader Glencadam Glory to win by half a length.

Verdana Blue got going too late and finished third in a race where only one of the first seven finishers (Euchen Glen) came from a single-figure stall.

It was also notable that virtually nothing got heavily involved from well off the pace, and Monica Sheriff was an eyecatcher in that regard, finishing a fine fourth on what was her seasonal reappearance.

The winner was defying a mark of 108 to follow up his impressive win in the Copper Horse Handicap at Royal Ascot, and he was slashed in the betting for the Melbourne Cup.

Roger Varian feels this fragile six-year-old may not be the ideal type for the Flemington contest, however, and favours a tilt at the British Champions Long Distance Cup at Ascot in October.

NORTH Yorkshire-based Nigel Tinkler has been training for much longer than his youthful appearance would suggest, but he’s rarely had such a good team of juveniles, headed by National Stakes winner Ubettabelieveit and Acklam Express (Tom Marquand), who matched his stable-companion’s achievement by landing the Listed Roses Stakes.

He won by a nose from the blinkered Queen Of Rio (Adrian Keatley/Cieren Fallon). Nomadic Empire (David O’Meara/Danny Tudhope) was a head behind in third in a busy finish which saw a stewards’ inquiry called.

The winner was returned at 10/3 favourite off course, and he has been raised to a mark of 98 by the official handicapper, putting him 1lb above Ubettabelieveit in the ratings. This was his third consecutive win, and he broke the juvenile track record when landing a nursery at Goodwood on his previous start.

This win proves the son of Mehmas is not ground dependent, and was another boost for his first-season sire, who has now produced four stakes winners in Britain this summer, the others being Gimcrack winner Minzaal, easy Richmond Stakes winner Supremacy and the exciting Method, winner of the Listed Rose Bowl Stakes at Newbury in July.

THE Melrose Stakes went the way of 12/1 chance Coltrane (Andrew Balding/Oisin Murphy), who took another leap forward to complete a hat-trick of wins off a mark of 86. There was some talk of the St Leger for the improving winner, who carries the now-familiar silks of Mick and Janice Mariscotti, but Balding was quick to pour cold water on such a notion, opting instead to target his three-year-old at the Cesarewitch at Newmarket in October.