Lester Piggott Stakes: Sea Silk Road secures poignant victory for Maureen Haggas at Haydock

Tom Marquand delivered Sea Silk Road to perfection to give William Haggas a fitting success in the Sky Bet Lester Piggott Stakes at Haydock.

Haggas and Marquand combined to win the contest - which is registered as the Pinnacle Stakes - with Sea La Rosa 12 months ago, but this year's victory had added meaning with the Group Three contest renamed in honour of Piggott, who was not only a weighing room legend, but also Haggas' father-in-law.

Although the race lost a little spice when John and Thady Gosden's Mimikyu was declared a non-runner prior to the runners heading to post, there was nevertheless a small but select cast at the Lancashire track and it was German raider Nachtrose who led them along in the early stages from Roger Varian's Modaara as the quintet raced in single file.

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Marquand had the eventual winner anchored in the rear, sitting on the tail of Ryan Moore and the evens favourite Time Lock, and although Moore was soon nudging away as the runners swung the turn for home, Marquand was yet to panic aboard the eventual winner as he began to hunt down those at the head of affairs.

Modaara laid down a challenge two furlongs from home, but the eye was always drawn to Sea Silk Road who would prove to be Nachtrose's biggest danger in the closing stages and having hit top gear with a furlong to run, the Somerville Lodge inmate was well in control as she swooped past the raider late on to score by three-quarters of a length at 9/2.

Piggott rode his first and last winners at Haydock and his daughter Maureen Haggas, the winning trainer's wife and assistant, was delighted with the result.

She said: "It's my father's race and things like this don't always happen, so it's nice when it does.

"Kirkland [Tellwright, clerk of the course] and I have been talking for a while as we wanted to have a race here, for obvious reasons. It was just a question of which one and this is a nice race on a nice day and a stepping-stone to other things.

"It will be the Lester Piggott forever, which is nice. He was obviously a massive part of my life and we shared a lot of interests. It was hard on all of us when he died and I miss him terribly."

Jumby runs down Aussie raider in John of Gaunt

Jumby showed his love of seven furlongs once again in claiming the Sky Bet John of Gaunt Stakes.

Eve Johnson Houghton's son of New Bay won the Group Two Hungerford Stakes over the distance last summer and avoiding a penalty for that success here, the 9/4 favourite made full use of that advantage to get the better of Australian raider The Astrologist in the closing stages.

Dropping back in both trip and grade having beaten on horse home in the Lockinge Stakes last time, Jumby was positioned towards the rear by jockey Charlie Bishop as The Astrologist was out of the gates and quickly into stride in the hands of Ryan Moore.

However, the long Haydock straight provided Bishop with all the time he needed to set about catching the strapping Australian speedster and with Karl Burke's El Caballo suffering interference at a crucial moment, Jumby was given plenty of daylight to make his challenge, cruising to a cosy one-and-a-half-length success in the closing stages.

Regional sets up Nunthorpe bid with Achilles victory

A tilt at Group One glory in the Nunthorpe at York is on the agenda for Regional following a clear-cut victory in the Sky Bet Achilles Stakes at Haydock.

Placed on multiple occasions last season, including a runner-up finish in a valuable race in Qatar before finishing third in the Stewards' Cup at Goodwood, Ed Bethell's speedster made a successful start to his five-year-old campaign in handicap company at York last month.

He faced a rise in class in this five-furlong Listed event, but proved more than up to the task in the hands of Callum Rodriguez.

The 5/1 shot blazed a trail down the centre of the track and while Frankie Dettori did his best to get 3/1 favourite Equilateral on terms against the stands' rail, Regional was ultimately well on top as he passed the post with a length and a quarter in hand.

Meanwhile the Julie Camacho-trained Raatea (13/2) could be joining stablemate and the fellow Martin Hughes-owned Shaquille at Royal Ascot, after producing a game display to win the Sky Bet Reverence Handicap over six furlongs.

That victory opened up the possibility of going for the Wokingham Stakes at the Royal meeting, with Raatea shortened into 16/1 for that contest after holding off the attentions of Emperor Spirit and Frankie Dettori.

The Charlie Fellowes-trained Cumulonimbus (6/1) led from pillar to post in the Better Betting With Sky Bet Handicap under a well-judged ride from Harry Davies.

The four-year-old made every yard of the running when scoring at Newmarket last month and repeated the tactics on Merseyside, dominating from the front and keeping enough up his sleeve to repel the challenge of the long-absent Live Your Dream by half a length.