At Kenilworth yesterday Joey Ramsden won the Somerset 1200 for the fourth successive year when 5-2 shot Attenborough led two furlongs out under Donovan Dillon and romped home to win pretty much as he liked.

Donovan Dillon (Nkosi Hlophe)

Ramsden said: “He is a smashing horse and he has come on by leaps and bounds since his first run. We are quite keen to keep him here rather than send him to Durban and so he will do the two-year-old winter series – the Cape Of Good Hope Nursery (May 28) and the Langerman four weeks later.”

The Milnerton trainer was optimistic that he would double up with Miranda Frost in the Perfect Promise Sprint but the 8-10 favourite went out like a light inside the final furlong and was found to have a significant nasal discharge.

Bernard Fayd’Herbe slipped The Merry Widow through on the inner to extend the unbeaten record of Gaynor Rupert’s homebred 5-1 chance to three. She will come back for the Fillies Nursery in three weeks’ time.

She is no more than 15 hands and Jonathan Snaith quipped: “She is the smallest horse in the yard and Justin was eyeing her for polo!”

It was a red-letter day for Lungese Geledu. The 27-year-old has been with Vaughan Marshall for four years but has only started race-riding relatively recently and Indigo Storm in the Work Riders’ Maiden was his third ride. He led 50m out to record his first success.

By Michael Clower