LANCELOT DU LAC won his twelfth race yesterday afternoon at Wolverhampton in impressive fashion, giving lumps of weight away to his rivals.
The eight-year-old son of Shamardal was one of nine runners in the £25,000 handicap and the 5/2 shot was giving 13lbs and upwards to his eight rivals as he won the 6f sprint by half a length from favourite, Mickey.
While Lancelot Du Lac had previously won seven times on the all-weather, they were all at Kempton, Lingfield and Chelmsford. He had never previously run on the Tapeta surface at Dunstall Park but any fears on that score were soon allayed.
Drawn six, Lance was soon prominent, lost his position but then made a move two out under Robert Winston, who knows the horse well, having won on him five times previously. The jockey galvanised the horse a furlong from home and as they hit front, the pair were never going to be caught.
He has a very impressive strike rate with 12 wins in 51 career starts and although two-thirds of those have come on the all-weather, he’s no one trick pony. Turf wins have included success at Newmarket, York and Goodwood, where he won last year’s Stewards’ Cup under Frankie Dettori.
Congratulations to owners Michael and Heather Yarrow, for whom Lancelot Du Lac is a pleasure to own and a very special horse. Rated 107 going into yesterday’s race, he is sure to go up in the handicap. At his peak, he as been 109 but at the age of eight, he seems as good as ever and could be improving!
The victory was the 10th for Harper Lodge Farm this year as the stable nears the £100,000 before the turf season has even begun. Last year was a record season for the fifth year running. Who’s to say 2018 won’t be a sixth?