Tattycoram enters Oaks reckoning after Wild Card win

Ralph Beckett is not ruling out a tilt at the Betfred Oaks after Tattycoram opened her account in the bet365 ‘Wild Card’ Fillies’ Novice Stakes at Sandown.

The daughter of Camelot met traffic in running when third to Charlie Appleby’s Winter’s Song at Yarmouth earlier this month, but turned the form around nicely on the 13-8 favourite to register a taking success in the hands of Rossa Ryan.

Tattycoram was sent off at 11-4 and with the winner earning an entry for the Epsom Classic on June 6, Paddy Power introduced her into their Oaks betting at 40-1.

Beckett said: “She was always a filly who was a proper model and she’s as good looking a homebred as you will come across, a very attractive filly.

“She was a bit fiery at the gates last year and we were just trying to stay on the right side of her and Richard Kingscote gave her a very nice reintroduction at Yarmouth three weeks ago.

“I thought it was a good effort today and I would say we will play our cards depending on how she is in the next few weeks. I certainly wouldn’t rule out the Oaks entry and you couldn’t say the runner-up ran below par, but whatever we do we will do with her best interests in mind.

“I would love to see her at Epsom obviously, but it will depend how she goes over the next four or five weeks. We could look at Lingfield (for the Oaks Trial), that could work, we’ll just see how it goes. She is straightforward and she will stay straightforward if we keep doing right by her.”

Beckett doubled up with Sing Us A Song (4-1), who made all in the Nordoff & Robbins Jeff Beck Memorial Handicap under Hector Crouch.

Fifth Column could have booked his ticket to Royal Ascot, with John Gosden highlighting the Britannia Stakes as a future target for the Esher Cup scorer.

Sent off the 5-2 favourite in the hands of William Buick, the Godolphin-owned three-year-old benefitted from match fitness as he saw off Beckett’s Seraph Gabriel by three-quarters of a length.

Gosden said: “Gelding has really made a difference and it wasn’t that he couldn’t concentrate, he just used to get in a little bit of a panic and a rush and definitely gelding has calmed him down, he’s a much happier person in himself.

“Of course he’d had a run on the all-weather and won and he came here fully race fit, which you’ll need to be today. He’s worked well at home and I thought if we’d have a winner today, it would be this race.

“I think we’ll probably stay at a mile for the Britannia and hope we draw the right side. We could well go again in between but it would have to be the right spot – you are going to go up in the handicap and you don’t want to potentially go up too much more again.

“But on the other hand, if you wrap them up in cotton wool, they could end up there too fresh. He’ll tell me.”

Earlier in the day, Jack Channon’s Queen All Star won the opening bet365 Handicap at 4-1.