THE remarkably durable veteran Take Cover won the Listed William Hill Beverley Bullet for the second year in succession on Saturday.

Quickly away as usual, he overcame a tricky draw in stall nine for David Allan and made every yard to beat Mythmaker by just over a length, with Elnadim Star third. This followed a very creditable sixth in the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes at York only eight days previously.

“He is an absolute star and quite amazing,” said winning owner Andrew Hollis. “We’ll wait for the Group 3 at Newbury he won last year (the Dubai International Airport World trophy and then retire him. .”

Take Cover has won 15 of his 47 races, netting well over £700,000 in the process.

Cenotaph plans

LAST Saturday evening, Cenotaph won the Chelmsford Cup, a £100,000 handicap over 10 furlongs. Formerly trained by Aidan O’Brien, Cenotaph is now owned by the Tabor family and trainer Jeremy Noseda has the Dubai Golden Shaheen at Meydan in March as the longterm target for Cenotaph.

As a son of War Front, Noseda feels Cenotaph will be suited by a dirt track and he could head first to America next month for some experience on a similar surface.

Duretto times it

ANDREW Balding has been in unstoppable form these past few weeks and the Kingsclere trainer struck at Chester on Saturday with Duretto, who came with a perfectly-timed challenge under David Probert to deny front-running Hochfeld in the Listed Chester Stakes over the extended mile and three-quarters.

Despite an absence of several weeks, Duretto was the 4/5 favourite and made his class tell under a fine ride. The ambitious plans include a trip down under for the Caulfield Cup, quite possibly followed by a tilt at the big one itself.