KIWI Bay surely sealed his place as one of Redcar’s most prolific course specialists yesterday when the Michael Dods’ veteran won his seventh race at the seaside track.

The popular bay, who’s made more comebacks than Frank Sinatra, clearly loves Redcar and should have won the same race last year but was boxed in on the rail.

This time, thriving on the firm going, he looked more like a two-year-old than a 12-year-old as he kicked clear two furlongs out under Callum Rodriguez.

On Help For Heroes Day, it really was a day for veterans and Dods, who trains near Darlington, said: “He's just amazing. When he was younger, he was a miler but he needs the extra two furlongs these days. He just loves it at Redcar.”

And there’s every chance Kiwi Bay will stay in training as a 13-year-old. “He doesn’t know how old he is and he’s still enjoying it, so why not?”

Joint owner Ian Bennett, from Driffield, said: “He’s phenomenal, especially here at Redcar. He’s been a joy to own.”

Middleham maestro Mark Johnston and evergreen jockey Joe Fanning scored a double when Highly Strung stayed on gamely to beat favourite Muscika in the feature race of the day, The Sky Bet Go-Racing-In-Yorkshire Summer Festival Handicap Stakes.

Johnston and Fanning had earlier taken the second race with Tight Lines running out an impressive winner.

Johnston said: “It was probably a weak race so we don't know what she beat but she couldn’t have done it any better.”

The trainer was also upbeat about stable star Permian, winner of the King Edward Stakes at Royal Ascot. Although he’s entered in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, back at Ascot at the end of the month, Johnston said his most likely option is to go to Arlington in America for the Secretariat Stakes.

The Secretariat is run over the same distance of 1 mile 2f as the Dante Stakes, which Permian won at York, and Johnston said: “I still think the Dante was probably his best performance so that's the most likely route at the moment."

Redcar's second day of the Go Racing In Yorkshire Summer Festival began with Hugo Palmer’s progressive Arbalet, appreciating the extra furlong in the opener, staying on strongly to win from Brian Meehan’s Barbarianatthegate.

Sammy Jo Bell is one of the north’s leading lady jockeys and she was shown to good effect in winning the third race on veteran Consett trainer Wilf Storey’s Mr Sundowner.

William Easterby, representing his father Tim, was confident of a good run from Clear As A Bell in the fourth race and the chestnut filly duly delivered under a strong ride from David Allan.

"I thought she had a great chance and she did it well," said William.

Sir Michael is always to be feared at Redcar but his only runner, 6-4 favourite Flourishing, was hit for six in the Redcar Cricket Club Fillies’ Handicap by 16-1 shot Alexandrakollontai, trained at Hawick by Alistair Whillans.

By the time of the eighth and and final race, the heavens had opened and course and distance winner Midnight Warrior, trained at Middlesbrough by Ronnie Barr, showed great tenacity to get up on the line under apprentice Jamie Gormley in the day’s best finish.