Averroes on French Group-race trail.

Byline: Andrew King

AVERROES put himself in line for a trip to France for a Group 3 contest later this month after taking the 1m juvenile maiden with the minimum of fuss under Adam Kirby.

The colt had obviously progressed from his Newbury debut just over two weeks ago as Kirby was able to take things relatively easy inside the final furlong to comfortably see off Comradeship.

Clive Cox, who trains the winner for Sultan Bin Khalifa Al Nayhan, said: "I hope he could be a nice horse for the autumn and next season. We will now look at what there is for him but the Group 3 Prix des Chenes at Longchamp on September 19 could be the right race.

"Some slower ground this autumn will not be a problem for him as he has coped well with the easier conditions here today. He is a decent prospect for his owners."

Mick Channon's Leitzu emerged the winner of the 1m fillies' juvenile maiden when coming with a good run down the centre of the course to get the better of Rose Alba by a length and a half.

Gerald Blackwell of owners Upsan Downs Racing said: "She is basically a three-year-old filly in the making and will probably want further than this mile trip next season."

Explaining the filly's below-par effort at Kempton last time, Blackwell added: "She could not get into her stride there but this straight galloping course has suited her much better."

Milton Bradley saddled an across-thecard treble when Outer Hebrides landed the 6f handicap and Lithaam prevailed in the concluding 5f apprentices' handicap to add to the gains of Ghost Dancer at Warwick.

Devon-based trainer Martin Hill extricated himself from the cold trainers' list when Petomic, backed from a morning price of 20-1 down to 5-1, proved the support spot-on as he beat Spring Secret in the 1m handicap.

Hill had gone five months without a winner but said: "The horses have not been running badly, they just have not been getting their heads in front but we were confident this fellow would go very well."

The four-year-old runs for the EGHQ Partnership headed by Richard Thomasson, and he said: "We have had a few quid on him at 20-1 and some other big prices."

Rod Millman was another trainer to end a losing spell - albeit only a month - when Cadeaux Fax, ridden by his son James, stayed on well under pressure to claim the 7f handicap.

Mamlakati was all the rage for the seller and duly triumphed, much to the delight of those who had supported her into 11-10 favouritism.

Star performance Averroes looked a cut above average when easily winning Gamble landed Petomic landed a touch for his connections after being backed down to 5-1 (from 20) Which two-year-old has a winnerpacked pedigree and can now run in nurseries? Results and analysis start page 82