FRANKIE Dettori won the Qatar Stewards’ Cup at Goodwood two years ago on Magical Memory. The horse, a well-backed favourite, returned to rapturous applause and it says much for the Italian’s charisma and enduring appeal that the scene was repeated at Goodwood on Saturday, even though Lancelot Du Lac was virtually ignored at 25/1.

Much better known for his exploits on the all-weather –in top sprinting company, it should be said – Lancelot Du Lac was winning on turf for the first time since 2013. The winner is trained by Dean Ivory.

Well away in the centre group, he was taken towards the far side in search of the best ground and saw off the sustained late challenges of Aeolus and Upstaging by three-quarters of a length and a nose, this after eventual fourth Growl had loomed up as the biggest threat.

Dettori had never ridden the winner before but came in for the ride when Robert Winston was booked for Tropics, later taken out because of the soft ground. (In fact, the track rode much better than many feared following Wednesday’s mini-monsoon.)

“Dean was sweet on this horse,” Dettori said after treating the crowd to a flying dismount. “He boiled over in the Wokingham but Dean put a hood on today and he was very calm. He had bags of speed and I was able to come across slowly without burning too much petrol. He’s done it really well.”

Sometimes the cards fall just right. Winston stayed loyal to winning owners Michael and Heather Yarrow and rode Stake Acclaim, who finished 15th. Even then, Lancelot Du Lac might have been partnered by Adam Kirby but the latter went to Newmarket for Clive Cox. The Yarrows, who won the 1984 Cesarewitch with Tom Sharp, were absent away on holiday.

Lancelot Du Lac has now won 11 of his 47 races. His early experience was mainly on turf before the switch to all-weather racing proved very lucrative. He is a model of consistency and Ivory has placed him very astutely.

“We’ll have a think about the Ayr Gold Cup but we’ll have to consider Champions’ Day at Ascot, as well,” the trainer said. He has done well at his relatively small Hertfordshire stable, having taken over from his father Ken, who was also a dab hand with sprinters.

Dettori picked up a four-day ban for careless riding, which is unlikely to worry him unduly. The far side was the place to be from halfway – something made abundantly clear in the King George the day before.

Even with the Dettori factor, very few punters found the winner but they were on target in the opening Qatar Stewards’ Sprint Handicap, with Andrew Balding’s 9/2 favourite Scorching Heat.

The trainer enjoyed an excellent week and the three-year-old, always well to the fore down the centre, led inside the final furlong for Oisin Murphy to beat Tommy G by three-quarters of a length.