Well day two of the Craven meeting was run with a strong headwind.
I must admit to feeling smug after the first, the first division of the Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Wood Ditton, as the shock 40/1 winner Tri Nations was my paddock pick.
Under an inspired Seb Sanders ride he collared the well backed Tryst on the line by a short head.
The race was slightly devalued by the withdrawal of the well touted Amaakin.
Walter Swinburn’s Crown Choice took the third place.
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In the second division of the race there was another “on the line victory”, this time Frankie Dettori was the victor, on Fanjura just heading the long time leader Khateeb.
Unlike the first winner this victory went to a well backed runner - going off at 4/1, the same odds as the runner up. The Irish raider and 11/4 favourite, Zulu Chief finished third.
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Well they say pride comes before a fall. After my tipping prowess in the first I completely misread things in the third.
The favorite Danehill Destiny looked an absolute dog in the parade ring, bucking and kicking.
Yet the 3/1 favourite won the race with consummate ease.
Ploughing a lone furrow in the centre of the course, Ryan Moore let the filly go two furlongs out and with a blistering burst of speed the race was over.
The only battle being for second, in which 14/1 shot Art Princess got the better of the well backed second favourite Mambo Light.
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If the fourth race, the listed Abernat Stakes, had been a handicap then the handicapper would have been in seventh heaven as the first four crossed the line almost in union.
Judge Dave Smith was reasonably quick to call the winner Zidane but took longer to sort out the places with Assertive under Ryan Moore getting the better of Dark Missile under William Buick by the minimum distance, with Sonny Red being the one to Miss out on a place.
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The Craven Stakes is the main race of the meeting, rather obvious I suppose.
Even without yesterday's exploits the John Gosden trained Raven's Pass had long been considered near banker material for the race.
He was duly sent off the 11/8 favourite and when Jimmy Fortune made his move passing the bushes it looked like a decisive move.
Second favourite, Twice Over from the Henry Cecil yard had other ideas though and the pair battled it out to the line, with Twice Over just prevailing by a short head with The Bogberry from the Aiden O'Brien stable back in third, six lengths behind.
Both the first and second look very decent prospects and the third looks to be no mug either.
Although interestingly Henry Cecil was not so confident about his charge.
"I'm not sure whether he is a Guineas horse or not and I want to leave it open.
"I'm sure he'll come on from this race and obviously he has improvement in him.
"I think he outstayed the other horse and I'm just not sure if he doesn't want a little bit further. He could be more of a Dante or mile-and-a-quarter horse.
"He did everything right, though, and if you take the second away he won very easily.
"I want to leave it open and see how he is and discuss it with the Prince. I don't want to ruin him in a race.
"But if you asked me if he was to go for the Dante I would say he probably would do."
John Gosden was pleased with Raven’s Pass’s run after warning beforehand the horse was not at peak fitness.
"That was a good trial as he wasn't fully wound up and the big day is two and a half weeks away.
"I had made it clear that he wasn't wound up for today and he pulled hard in the middle of the race.
"He then got tired in the final furlong, which is why I wanted to run him at Newbury in the Greenham over seven furlongs but the ground is on the soft side there.
"He certainly gets the mile though, and I think you will find that is a pretty smart Craven with good, solid form. They were a long way clear and there were some smart types in behind."
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Lincoln winner Smokey Oakey stepped up in class to contest the Group 3 Earl of Sefton Stakes and it proved to be a step too far.
Having said that winning the race also proved to be beyond the two horses who vied for favouritism.
Pipedreamer and Multidimensional were the two but could only finish third and fourth respectively.
At the furlong marker it looked a though Jane Chapple-Hyam's Traffic Guard was going to be driven to victory but Henry Cecil's Phoenix Towers came with a late surge to grab the race in the final strides.
Cecil said: "I was very pleased with him as he has been off since last May with a hairline fracture of his pelvis.
"He has always been a good horse and is unbeaten but has had his problems.
"We'll see how he is, but he stays further and I think a mile and a quarter suits him."
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It is not very often you get an 11/10 favourite in a 16 runner race but that is what happened in the seventh, The Rossdales Maiden Fillies Stakes, with Melodramatic carrying the expectations of punters. Melodramatic was happy to track the leader Danae but seemed unable to get his head in front, going down by a head.
The winner had to survive a stewards enquiry and his pilot Dane O’Neill picked up a one day ban for his troubles.
Third spot went to Michael Bell's Miss Brown To You, who impressed on this her debut run.
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The finale, the longest race of the meeting a 1¼ mile handicap, produced another thrilling finish with, appropriately a Gosden / Fortune winner in the shape of Bronze Cannon who fired himself into the lead and bravely held off the challenge of the favourite Doctor Freemantle under a driving Ryan Moore ride.