Sans Frontieres surprises Noseda at Newbury

Noseda had been concerned about his colt being able to handle the softened ground in Berkshire,

Furthermore he had the step up to nearly a mile and three-quarters to contend with after his return to form in the Princess Of Wales's Stakes at Newmarket last time.

But Noseda had nothing to fear as Sans Frontieres (3-1) beat Laaheb quite readily by two and a quarter lengths under Johnny Murtagh despite hanging in the closing stages. That was less than could be said for last year's winner Kite Wood, the 6-4 favourite, who led until the last three furlongs but dropped away.

"To be honest I was very worried about the ground but I chatted to Sir Robert (Ogden, owner) and we decided to go for it," said Noseda. "I was fairly worried he wouldn't go on it, but we had to find out today because we've had the Irish St Leger on our minds and there's a good chance it will be soft there.

"So it will be the Irish St Leger next and hopefully after that, we can have a tilt at the Melbourne Cup."

Murtagh added: "He pricked his ears a little because of the noise of the crowd but the increase in distance definitely helped.

"I was supposed to ride in a jockeys' competition in France today but Jeremy rang me up and said he had a couple of good rides for me. It was worth coming."