The son of Selkirk had been a progressive handicapper last year, but his trainer Saeed bin Suroor believes he will continue to develop.

“This was his first race of this year in England and he needed this race,” said bin Suroor. “He will improve from this race. He is entered in the Hardwicke at Royal Ascot and I think he will stay a mile and a half no problem.

“He is a nice horse, improving all the time, and I suspect he will be a nice horse in the future.”

Royal Ascot’s Chesham Stakes is the target for Milk It Mick, who landed the odds in the first division of the Family Fun Novice Auction Stakes under Martin Dwyer, beating Goblin by a length and a quarter.

Trainer Jamie Osborne doubled up in the second division when Morse made all under a determined Kieren Fallon to beat Mr Belvedere by a neck.

Pivotal Point overcame the coffin box draw of stall one to beat 17 rivals in the Bet attheraces Maiden Stakes.

Peter Makin’s three-year-old, runner-up when badly drawn on his debut at Salisbury last month, led around a quarter of a mile out in the six-furlong contest under Seb Sanders and soon quickened clear, beating Best Before by three and a-half lengths.

“I put everybody away and said he had got no chance from that draw,” said Makin. “But he’s done easily enough, and six would be as far as he’d want.”

Pivotal Point had been trained as a two-year-old by Linda Perratt, but had to be withdrawn on both intended starts.

“He came back in a horse ambulance once – he smashed himself up very badly in the stalls,” said Makin. “One of the reasons he came down to me was because of Gary Witheford, who’s a horse-whisper who does a lot of work on horses who are difficult with stalls.

“We gelded him to try and help his cause but there’s been an awful lot of hard work put into him over the winter. He wasn’t frightened of them, he’d just smash them to pieces. And he’s not the sort of horse you’d want to take on!”

Nadour Al Bahr gained his first success in 23 months when snatching the Tote Exacta Rated Stakes (Showcase Handicap) in the dying strides from Goblet Of Fire.

The eight-year-old, twice placed in Pattern company in Germany in his youth, wriggled through a gap between Goblet Of Fire and Island Light entering the last furlong, with his rider, Robert Miles, the 7lb claimer, pushing him out with hands and heels, having dropped his whip when launching the run.

Robert Mills, representing his father Terry, who trains Nadour Al Bahr, said: “He will go to Royal Ascot in some shape or form. He’s won, and that’s the main thing, as he’s had so many unfortunate runs. He’s got to be covered up and some days it works, most days it doesn’t.

“He’s a bit long in tooth, but he’s older and wiser now. That’s the third winner in a week, so they are just firing up at the right time.”

Fallon and Jamie Spencer were both fined £130 (€180) for being late into the parade ring in that race, in which they rode the runner-up Island Light and fourth-placed Bonecrusher respectively.