Wiltshire trainer's Ascot triumph

7:47pm Friday 1st August 2008

Roger Charlton served another ace by capturing the £150,000 totesport Mile for the second year in succession, this time with Prince Khalid Abdullah's Fifteen Love.

John Livock is the man responsible for the majority of the Beckhampton trainer's tennis-named runners, and his dark blue and grey silks were carried to victory 12 months ago by Third Set.

The colours were different on this occasion, but the result the same as Steve Drowne weaved a passage through a packed field to claim the valuable pot by a head from 4-1 favourite Masaalek.

Like Third Set who captured the totesport International prior to the Mile, the 5-1 winner had also landed another significant event when winning the Britannia at Royal Ascot.

And he kept the trend-followers happy when continuing the high-draw domination of the race on the Downs, with no horse since the turn of the century visiting the winner's enclosure after breaking from stall 15 or below.

The winner is a son of Point Given, hence the tennis connection in his name.

Charlton said: "That's a good follow up for Third Set. John Livock just texted me saying he's now got about 20 messages from people congratulating him about the winner, thinking he owned it!

"I was concerned before the race that he may miss the break, but he broke well.

"Steve said he didn't have a hard race, and that the gaps weren't coming so he had to switch round.

"It will be hard for him to win another handicap so we will have to try him in Listed or Group races now, and I'll have to talk to Prince Khalid to try to keep him in the UK as he will ultimately go to America.

"He does relax in his races so I don't think it is out of the question that he will get a mile and a quarter."

Fifteen Love had been engaged to run yesterday afternoon before being pulled out due to the ground, and Charlton revealed the totesport Mile had always been the aim.

He added: "I declared him to run yesterday as I was concerned about the going.

"He is a fast-ground horse and if it looked like a deluge of rain overnight then I had the option of running yesterday, but thankfully he ran today."

Drowne said: "We were drawn on the rails and I thought I was following the right horses, but they didn't take me far enough so I had to come out.

"I'd rather be drawn high and hope for a bit of luck than have to give ground away.

"This horse travels and picks up for you and when the gaps come he goes for them.

"He's so tough, he's won a Britannia and he ran well at Sandown from a bad draw but he's popped out today and won.

"You don't often win two big handicaps in a season."

Marcus Tregoning said of the runner-up: "It was close but he's run the same sort of race as he did at Ascot.

"We got first run on the winner, who also had to extricate himself from a difficult position, so it's possible he has just been beaten by a slightly better horse."

Dubai's Touch was a length down in third, and his trainer Mark Johnston said: "I don't know what happened at Doncaster last time but we've brought him back and he seems right back to form. It'll be more of the same for him."