IN light rain that fell most of the day, reducing the track from good to soft going, the Lope De Vega gelding Gytrash dealt a telling blow to his better-performed rivals, landing his first Group 1 win in the 1,000 metre Black Caviar Lightning, thus preserving his unbeaten streak in straight-track racing.

Not surprisingly, Royal Ascot’s Nick Smith was on hand to congratulate Gytrash’s Adelaide-based trainer Gordon Richards, aged 68.