Lady crowned with Diadem

Ridden with trademark confidence and panache by Richard Hughes, the Brian Meehan-trained filly endorsed all of the promise of her second to Markab in the Betfred Sprint Cup at Haydock by coming home unchallenged. With the race teed up for her by the breakneck pace set by 9-4 favourite Dalghar, she swamped that rival inside the final furlong to race two and a quarter lengths clear.

Hughes described Lady Of The Desert as "a motorbike", but owner Jaber Abdullah now faces a dilemma. Abullah's racing manager, Bruce Raymond, explained: "It would be great to run her again this year as she's a fresh filly, but the Abbaye is too soon and otherwise there's nothing left in Europe. We shall have to talk to the owner."

Meehan added of the 4-1 winner: "It was a job to know whether Richard was going to go inside or round the leader, but she was travelling so easily it didn't matter. She's been so well since Haydock that I think she could go on and on."

There was a terrific finish to the Grosvenor Casinos Cumberland Lodge Stakes in which favourite-backers collected by the minimum margin as 5-6 chance Laaheb pipped Whispering Gallery.

The pair had pulled well clear of the other four runners and were inseparable through the final 200 yards. To the naked eye it looked as though Kieren Fallon had got Whispering Gallery up for a chance success, but the photo showed it was Laaheb by a nose.

Fallon replaced Ted Durcan on Whispering Gallery after the jockey was stood down for the day after having been unshipped from Anhar during the PwC Handicap, won by Life And Soul. Durcan was shaken up, but did not sustain any serious injuries.

Fictional Account helped trainer Vince Ward realise a lifelong dream when staging a 16-1 upset in the SIS Live Fenwolf Stakes. County Meath-based Ward, who trains seven horses as a hobby to run alongside his main role as a sheep farmer, had always dreamed of saddling a winner at Ascot. And that came to fruition as William Buick pushed out Fictional Account to score by a length and a half from Free Agent.

Ward enthused: "I've spent 25 years dreaming about this day. We were going for the Irish Cesarewitch but changed our minds because the ground was too soft and she'd have had top weight. This race suited her better, as did the flat track, as she showed how well she can travel."

At the Curragh, meanwhile, Michael Halford's Casamento ran out a four-length winner in the Juddmonte Beresford Stakes. The two-year-old, owned by Sheikh Mohammed, justified the 10,000 euros supplementary fee when landing the odds in the Group 2 contest.