VERY much in the shadow of York's Dante meeting, Salisbury however provided one feel good story yesterday when a teenager rode his first ever winner on his eighth ride.

Connor Planas, based with Newmarket trainer Tom Clover who encouraged him to take out a licence, brought Crystal Casque with a smooth challenge to land the seven-furlong apprentice race at 13/2.

The 18-year-old, evidently in high demand as he partnered two fancied horses at Chester last week, remarked: "That's perfect. She has given me a great run round here. They went fairly quick up front but I knew they would come back. The gap came for me at the two furlong pole and she came through very strongly."

The ambitious apprentice added: "I want to build up my contacts and go for the all-weather season when I have done that."

Lambourn trainer Ed Walker has a vaulted opinion of Makarova and his belief she could be better than handicap class was firmly vindicated when the three-year-old readily shrugged off top weight to win her second race in three weeks at the track.

Though she had initially shown promise over seven furlongs, the Acclamation filly relished the drop back to six with a decisive success last month and underlined her improvement by taking which looked on paper a competitive affair with ease.

Always prominent, David Egan switched her towards the middle two out and she ran on well to win by two lengths to give jockey Egan the last leg of a treble.

If that had been straightforward, then Brayden Star's was even more simple as the three-year-old made a mockery of the ten-furlong handicap. Egan could afford the luxury of looking over his right shoulder in the final furlong to coast home by seven and a half lengths, doubtless shattering his handicap mark in the process.

His other winner was in total contrast as Remarkable Force lived up to her name and pedigree by getting up in the final strides in the novice stakes to thwart the rudderless favourite El Dasim. Awkward at the start by swerving to her left on leaving the stalls and equally awkward during the race, El Dasim with his high head carriage ran off a true line in the closing stages, hampering Remarkable Force as the debutante made her challenge. Momentarily headed, she however fought back gamely to snatch the race close home.

George Boughey, who took the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket with Cachet, has another useful performer in his yard with Miss The Cut who defied a 7lb penalty to land the ten-furlong novice stakes with insolent ease. The three-year-old, who had recently won at Pontefract as much as he liked, could be called the winner half a mile out. Moving smoothly into the lead, the Quality Road colt did wander a little under pressure when clear but still won easing down by five and a half lengths.