Buick back in the winner's enclosure on Space Tracker

A Sure Welcome (second from right) bursts through to win at Windsor on Monday. Photo: Sue Orpwood

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Jockey William Buick followed up his five winners at Royal Ascot with another at Windsor on Monday evening.

But he had to work extra hard in the 7.35 race as his horse, Space Tracker just didn’t want to run in a straight line.

From two furlongs out, the three-year-old from Richard Hughes’ Upper Lambourn yard started to drift across the course, taking Bling On The Music, ridden by Kieran Shoemark, with him, the pair moving from the right rail to the left as they fought out the finish. Buick made every attempt to keep Space Tracker straight but admitted his horse had other ideas.

The Windsor stewards held an enquiry and allowed the result to stand as they considered Bling On The Music, owned by Lord Lloyd-Webber, never lost momentum and Shoemark didn’t have to stop riding.

There was another enquiry after the last race on the card following two incidents. The first of them resulted in Tom Marquand, who rode Meganseighteen, being cautioned for careless riding, while the second led to William Carson being suspended for two days for a similar offence, having allowed his mount, Cabeza De Llave, to shift right-handed without sufficient correction, causing Marquand to take a significant check.

Buick is the leading jockey at Windsor so far this year, while Luke Morris doubled his tally at the track with two more wins, aboard Al Karrar (12/1) in the British Stallion Studs Maiden Stakes and then in the latest round of the Fitzdares Sprint Series Handicap series with A Sure Welcome, who at 9/1 was the outsider of the six runners.

The eight-year-old was recording the 15th win of his career on his third visit to Windsor since the middle of last month. It was a worthwhile trip down from North Yorkshire for Nigel Tinkler’s Woodlands Charm, as the 9/4 favourite produced a strong finish to take the Noel Whelan Handicap in the hands of Rowan Scott.

It was the four-year-old filly’s fourth win in 13 starts.

This weekend sees the Windsor three-day festival, with racing starting at 1.40pm on Saturday, 1.45pm on Sunday and 5.15pm on Monday.