THE mystery behind the Royal Ascot flop of the north's star sprinter Mecca's Angel appears to have been solved.

Tests have shown that the flying grey was "in season" when she ran so disappointingly behind Profitable in the King's Stand Stakes at Ascot.

Trainer Michael Dods, based at Denton, near Darlington, told The Northern Echo: "There was clearly something amiss because it was too bad to be true and we've now had the test results back which confirm she was in season."

Mecca's Angel, owned by Darlington businessman David Metcalfe, started the Group 1 sprint as red-hot favourite having been backed down from 8-1 a few days before the race to 13-8.

However, jockey Paul Mulrennan reported that the filly – winner of the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes at York last August – was beaten after a furlong.

Mecca's Angel came out of the Ascot race sound and was x-rayed, scanned, scoped and blood tested in a bid to find out why she ran so far below par.

Dods said: "It takes a while for the test results to come back and everything is fine except the scan showing that she was in season. Horses can underperform when they're in season and that was the main reason she ran badly."

The filly had been in great form leading up to the race, with nothing to indicate that anything was amiss before the race. However, she began to show signs that she might in in season once in the starting stalls.

Dods also believes the ground was softer than she would ideally have wanted but the main reason for the disappointment was that she was in season.

"It's just one of those things but the good news is that she's physically sound and there are plenty more races to go for," said Dods. "We know the dates of her cycle now so it's something we can plan for."

The main target remains a repeat of her Nunthorpe success at York, although she may run in the Group 2 Sapphire Stakes at The Curragh in July.

There remains the intriguing possibility that one of Mecca's Angel's rivals in the Nunthorpe may be her fellow stable star Easton Angel, who announced herself as a genuine Group 1 contender when so impressive in a Listed race at Sandown earlier this month.