It was a successful afternoon at
for The Horse Watchers syndicate, capped by Royal Zabeel’s triumph in the BetMGM Lady Wulfruna Stakes.
Trained by
and ridden by Alistair Rawlinson, the bay was an 11-2 chance after an impressive campaign on the all-weather so far this winter.
He was well positioned throughout under his rider, kept handy in the early stages of the seven-furlong trip and then ridden to challenge around the turn for home.
The gelding took up the lead in the straight and would not be passed, staying ahead of the fast-finishing Witch Hunter to prevail by three-quarters of a length on the line.
“We’re really pleased with that, he’s done it well and we’ve always thought he’s a decent horse,” said Appleby.
“This has been the target for him for the winter and it’s good that it’s worked out and he’s gone and won it.
“He’s not done much wrong and he’s been progressing well all the while.
“We’ll switch to turf now and it will be interesting to see what he can do on grass.”
The Horse Watchers had already been successful at the meeting when Symbol Of Light won the first race, the BetMGM Lincoln Trial Handicap.
The six-year-old is trained by Julie Camacho and was ridden by Jason Watson as a 7-1 shot for the contest.
From a wide draw, the gelding was driven out on the line to score by a short head from Farasi Lane.