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Belgian Bill, Annecdote triumph in Royal Ascot handicaps Wiltshire trainer George Baker and Upper Lambourn conditioner Jonathan Portman each earned their first Royal Ascot win on Wednesday when Belgian Bill landed the Royal Hunt Cup and Annecdote captured the Sandringham Handicap. Belgian Bill not only gave Baker his first Royal Ascot score, but continued jockey James Doyle's remarkable success with a second Royal meeting victory just 35 minutes after his first aboard Al Kazeem in the Group 1 Princes of Wales's. Baker was actually visiting the Royal Hunt Cup winner's enclosure again after making an appearance seven years ago while working as a reporter for the defunct Sportsman newspaper. Now based at Manton, which is also home to his training colleague Brian Meehan, his training career is proving rather more durable. "I was in this spot six or seven years ago -- but who won this race on that occasion? I can't remember, but I'm sure I wrote a brilliant article about it!" Baker laughed. "He's been a fantastic old handicapper and has taken us to all the right places," the trainer continued about Belgian Bill. "You dream of winning a big one, and while it's a cliche that is often said of these horses, he deserved to win one. "He's been around the world for us and a great standard bearer for the yard. I've only been training for four and a half to five years and to have a horse like this is what you dream of." Doyle kept Belgian Bill held up toward the rear before allowing his mount to close with two furlongs remaining in the mile contest. The duo just got up in the final furlong to pull out the three-quarter length victory over Premio Loco. "I was nervous when they split into two (Belgian Bill raced with a small group on the far side), but at halfway the side-on shot showed we were just ahead and still traveling," Baker said. "This horse just loves getting into a bit of trouble in running and when he was stopped a couple of times that would have suited him. A race like that for old horses is a bit of fun and they seem to thrive on it. "Being dropped in the handicap has clearly helped and at a competitive level he had a big one in him. Where do we go now? I don't care! This is a career highlight -- the move to Manton has taken us to the next level and you want horses on the bigger stages. To do this at a place like this is beyond your wildest, but it hasn't sunk in yet." "He was well-fancied for this race last year -- he was nearly favorite -- and he has dropped down the weights a lot," Doyle said. "He ran some good races out in Dubai and I thought if he reproduced that form, we would have a chance of getting in the frame. "The race worked out perfectly. I was able to keep him interested the whole way through, putting him in little gaps and helping him travel. He quickened up well and I was a little bit unlucky because I got stopped a little bit but I think he probably enjoyed it. "I was happy with my draw. I know that the bulk of the field merged over towards the stands' rail but I was happy where I was." Portman will never forget the filly Annecdote, who became his first Royal Ascot winner when taking the Sandringham with Richard Kingscote aboard. Annecdote prevailed in a tight finish, beating Auction and Woodland Aria by a neck apiece. The winner is owned by 94-year-old Tom Edwards and partners, who had turned down a number of offers to buy the filly in order to be with her at Royal Ascot on Wednesday. The partners include the Pertemps Group, which bought a quarter-share in the filly when she was offered at a Starlight Foundation Charity auction last year. "This feels rather nice. She's a very gutsy filly," said Portman, who moved to his current yard last autumn. "When we looked at the program book back in February this race was the plan, but she ran rather disappointingly at Goodwood first time out this season over a mile, so we ditched the plan temporarily because it looked as though she didn't stay. However, my horses were not quite right, she had a bad draw and ran a bit freely. "We took her to Newbury over seven furlongs and she scooted up in a very good time looking as if she would stay so we said let's give the Sandringham a go -- and here we are. It's extraordinary. "When we first moved to Upper Lambourn we went about eight months without a winner, but the idea of moving to a bigger yard was to raise our profile and attract some more owners, and this hopefully might just help. "We could go to Goodwood with her, but any thoughts I had of going for a nice handicap have probably been blown." Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com
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