THE Group 2 Alan Wood Plumbing And Heating Park Stakes always looked an intricate affair, involving seven-furlong horses just short of the highest class.

In the end it went to Sir Michael Stoute’s Mustashry, who led and came again inside the final furlong to beat Godolphin’s D’Bai by a neck. The resilient Oh This Is Us was only a short-head behind, followed by Dutch Connection, who ran his best race for a while in fourth, having briefly taken over from Mustashry before the furlong marker.

The winner was ridden by Jim Crowley, whose retainer for Sheikh Hamdan is working out well.

“I’m sure Sir Michael will have a plan for him,” the former champion said. “He’s a super horse who can go from seven to 10 furlongs and he seems to be improving.”

The most surprising thing about the William Hill Portland Handicap was the SP of the winner, Charlie Hills’ A Momentofmadness, who went off at 25/1.

A very fast horse, A Momentofmadness had been below his best of late and the feeling was that the extra 140 yards, taking him closer to six furlongs than five, would not help.

In fact, he was quickly away in the centre for William Buick, soon had the opposition in trouble and remained clear all the way to the line, beating Encrypted by three-quarters of a length, with Wentworth Falls and Dakota Gold close up.

“He’s obviously back to his old self and there’s a Group 3 at Ascot we could have a look at,” Hills said.

Doncaster specialist Andrea Atzeni missed the headlines this year but his followers had no complaints as Leroy Leroy won the mile nursery at 4/1 and Simon Crisford’s Ostilio justified 6/4 favouritism in the handicap for older horses over the same trip.

William Buick may have been a little disappointed with Old Persian in the St Leger but he rode a winner later on when Ian Williams’ Byron Flyer, 9/2, made nearly all the running in the Cliff Stud Rearing Winners Handicap over a mile and a half.

There was no gamer winner over the four days, the seven-year-old simply refusing to be headed and keeping on strongly when eventual third Highbrow threw down the gauntlet a furlong out. Star Of The East split the pair.