Yorkshire trainer Gemma Tutty celebrates 'best ever' win as part of Doncaster double

On Saturday, Look Back Smiling (17-2) won the William Hill Epic Boost Spring Mile Handicap at Town Moor under five-pound claimer Brandon Wilkie.

The following day, 10-1 shot King of Spain struck for the Osmotherly handler and rider Rowan Scott in the one mile and two furlongs Harrison College Your Future Your Choice Handicap.

In the wake of that win, bookmaker William Hill tweeted that Tutty was the leading Flat trainer for the new season with two wins and she replied on her X account @GemmaTutty: “Won’t keep hold of that accolade for long so we’ll take it”.

King of Spain is a half-brother to the stable’s former standard-bearer Mostly Cloudy, with the three-year-old making an impressive turf debut to follow up a recent success on the all-weather.

She said: “He’s a half-brother to Mostly Cloudy who was our star during our first season so he has a lot of sentimental value anyway, but to see him keep progressing is really satisfying.

“We bought him as a yearling and the owners have been really patient. We were really keen to get him on soft ground and up in trip. I knew he would come on from his last run because he felt amazing at home, but I wasn’t expecting him to put the race to bed quite as impressively as he did.

“I’m really thrilled and most of the owners of Mostly Cloudy have reinvested and it’s wonderful to pay them back for keeping the faith in me. The weekend couldn’t have gone much better really.”

Look Back Smiling provided Tutty with the biggest success of her training career so far.

Bought out of Ed Dunlop’s stable by Nick Bradley for what now looks a snip at £10,000, the four-year-old was defying a career-high mark of 83.

Tutty said: “That’s another fantastic run at this track though, so we’re going to have to look at coming back here. It’s my biggest win, I suppose, we’ve got about 20 horses in and the staff have worked so hard all winter, the staff have been up and down that motorway all winter, so I can’t thank them enough.

“Nick Bradley has a few horses with me now, so it’s nice to repay the faith he has shown in me.”

Bradley added: “I did think going into it that he was our best chance of the weekend, he had underfoot conditions to suit, the track was perfect for him and the trip was perfect for him.

“Brandon (Wilkie) gave him a brilliant ride, when he got to the front he didn’t idle but he did wander around a bit and Brandon did a great job of keeping him straight to the line.

“Hats off to Gemma – to get a horse like that ready on the opening day of the season deserves a great amount of credit.”

Look Back Smiling will require cut in the ground wherever he goes next and there is a long-term plot to target the valuable Balmoral Handicap at Ascot in October.

Leyburn trainer Karl Burke’s Marshman has a Group race return pencilled in after a pleasing second-placed run in the Cammidge Trophy.

Under Clifford Lee, the colt started as the 3-1 joint-favourite and ran a fine race to finish second by a neck when collared by William Haggas’ Montassib on the line.

Another Bradley horse, he said: “I was speaking to Karl this morning and we’re now thinking that we’re going to go to the Abernant at Newmarket and he’ll have an entry in the Duke of York next week."

York Racecourse has welcomed the extension of sponsorships with Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai.

Both the Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai Dante Stakes and the Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai Middleton Stakes will be supported.

Prizemoney for the fillies’ and mares’ race in May has been boosted to £150,000; with the other two races retaining their record rewards of £180,000 for the Dante and £250,000 for the Gimcrack.