Dandy Boy - Leopardstown - 12.08.2010

Dandy Boy: had previously landed the Victoria Cup at Ascot in 2009

  PICTURE: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)  

Irish raider Dandy Boy springs 33-1 shock

Report: Royal Ascot, Saturday

Wokingham Stakes (Heritage Handicap) 6f, 3yo+

DANDY BOY ended an Irish drought in the Wokingham stretching way back to 1985 as he landed a second big handicap at Ascot for David Marnane.

The 2009 Victoria Cup winner was dropping back in trip but he pulled clear of the pack on the far side to win under Pat Dobbs at odds of 33-1 in an impressive time.

Waffle finished a length and a quarter behind the winner but first of those home on the stands side to take second at 11-1 with Grand National-winning jockey Graham Lee finishing third on his first Royal Ascot ride on Hawkeyethenoo. Morache Music was fourth.

The winning time of 1min 13.87 was quicker than that posted by Black Caviar earlier on the card.

Marnane said: "We have been trying to get him switched off as he is a horse with a lot of speed. He came here in the best form I have had him in for a long, long time."

This was a first winner at Royal Ascot for Pat Dobbs who said: "I have been looking forward to it for a long time. It feels good."

My Betting Account

THINK Flat racing and most think of Royal Ascot. The hats - running the gamut from stunning to misguided - the pageantry, the Queen in her carriage, the tops 'n' tails, the champagne on lush green lawns and, not forgetting, the incredible racing come together to form one of Britain's most iconic sporting events.

Over five days in mid-June the nation's great and good descend upon the royal racetrack for an occasion rich in every sense - in heritage, in sporting merit,and in the vast array of wealth represented by the crowds of dukes, earls and oligarchs strutting before the grandstand.

For mere mortals Royal Ascot is a chance to watch and wonder at the elaborate outfits donned at the Berkshire racecourse and watch in wonder as the cream of British and Irish Flat talent square off against each other and - increasingly - the steady stream of raiders from Australia, America and other corners of the globe.

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