Calendar Girl makes winning return at Haydock

Owen Burrows is lining up ambitious targets at the back end of the campaign for Calendar Girl after she made a successful belated seasonal reappearance in the Irish Stallions Farms EBF Dick Hern Stakes at Haydock.

The Lambourn trainer has had to wait as first illness and then a lack of fitness derailed a planned Guineas campaign and kept her off the track.

But after being sent off at 13-2, she stayed on resolutely to land this Listed prize by a length and a quarter from Pacific Mission with multiple Group One winner Fallen Angel a neck back in third. Burrows now has options heading into the final third of the season.

“For whatever reason in early spring she was just not healthy and I couldn’t get a clean scope off her. She went and had all May turned out and put on plenty of condition and is 20 kilos heavier than she was. It has taken until now to get her fit,” said Burrows.

“It was disappointing because we would have been looking at a Guineas trial but connections’ patience has been rewarded and hopefully we can build on that now.

“She has got a Sun Chariot entry and there is potentially a Breeders’ Cup. Let’s see how she comes out of this. We had been pleased with her at home and she has been showing all the right signs lately.”

Burrows added: “I don’t know how high she could go. Who knows because Callum (Rodriguez) said in the Oh So Sharp last year that she was only doing enough in front. But she will come nicely forward for this.”

Kieran Shoemark made the trip north for three rides on the Haydock card and might well have wondered why he bothered when the first Silenciosa was last in in Calendar Girl’s and the second, Moonshine, planted herself in the stalls at the start of the Betway Ashton Heath Handicap won by Pellitory (3-1).

Redemption came in fine style with the third and final ride of his afternoon as Arctic Thunder (7-2) followed up a recent small field Salisbury win with an emphatic win for Ed Walker.

“He is thriving and Ed Walker’s horses are absolutely flying at the moment and he looks like he could go in again. I was cursing at the two pole after he hit the front but he hit the line strong and he looked like the step up to a mile suited as well.”

There was an upset in the opening Betway Leigh Handicap with the Lisa Williamson-trained Lc Tiffen pulling off an 80-1 shock under 5lb claimer Molly Gunn.

The three-year-old denied Danny Tudhope on Saxophonist in a driving finish to give Gunn a 24th winner of her career.

“That is a lovely surprise but Lisa said she ran well last time,” said Gunn. “A light weight and a big, galloping, flat track was just what she needed.”

Norcross Brow (4-1) held on under strong pressure from Liam Wright to land the Betway Tanners Bridge Handicap and Home Hero (7-2), trained by Hugo Palmer, bagged the last, the Betway Apprentice Handicap Stakes under Luke Catton.