IT is more than 20 years since Mark Johnston claimed his only 2,000 Guineas success with Mister Baileys, but the Middleham trainer will spend the winter dreaming of a second Newmarket colts’ classic victory after Buratino trounced a top-class field to land the Coventry Stakes on the opening day of action at Royal Ascot.

Buratino’s eye-catching Derby-day win in Epsom’s Woodcote Stakes established his reputation as one of the most exciting two-year-olds in training, and persuaded Sheikh Mohammed to dig deep to add him to his Godolphin empire.

Today’s Grade Two success over six furlongs was even more impressive, and resulted in Bet Victor installing the son of Exceed and Excel as the 14-1 ante-post favourite for next season’s 2,000 Guineas.

Initially settled in midfield by jockey William Buick, Buratino was switched towards the stands side to launch his challenge.

He showed off his gears as he quickened into the lead, and Buick only had to use hands and heels in the final furlong to enable his mount to finish two lengths clear of Aidan O’Brien’s Air Force Blue.

“He travelled so well,” said Buick. “I had a lot of belief in him after the Woodcote, but fair play to Mark Johnston as he’s come on for every run.

“It’s a huge thing to get a win on the board early, and I’m very pleased to do it for my boss. He’s very exciting – he’s the best two-year-old around at the moment.”

Johnston must now decide whether to continue campaigning Buratino on a regular basis in the remainder of the season, or wrap the youngster in cotton wool ahead of his three-year-old campaign.

Today’s outing was his sixth of the year, and his experience certainly seemed to be a factor as he casually brushed aside less battle-hardened opponents.

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He suffered defeats at Ascot and Sandown after shedding his maiden tag on the all-weather at Chelmsford City, but a step up in distance has clearly been the making of him and there will be an inevitable temptation to aim him at some of the leading seven-furlong prizes on offer in the second half of the season.

“William has now ridden him three times and the horse has got better in his estimation and given him a better feel,” said Johnston, who also saddled the horses that finished fourth (Beaverbrook) and fifth (Ode To Evening) in the race.

“William told Sheikh Mohammed he wouldn’t be frightened to run him over seven furlongs later in the year. We’ll discuss where to go next, but he’s a different horse now.

“When he won on the first day of the season, Simon Crisford (former Godolphin racing manager) said put him away for Ascot, but I think they need experience and when Attraction won the Queen Mary she’d run a few times. When you go to Ascot, you need experience under your belt.”

This year’s 2,000 Guineas winner, Gleneagles, cemented his status as the champion miler with another comprehensive victory in today’s feature race, the St James’s Palace Stakes.

Sent off as a strongly-backed 8-15 favourite, the O’Brien trained three-year-old was always looking comfortable under Ryan Moore, and readily quickened to finish two-and-a-half lengths clear of runner-up Latharnach.

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Having won both the English and Irish 2,000 Guineas, Gleneagles is a worthy successor to recent St James’s Palace winners such as Frankel, Dawn Approach and Kingman, and it remains to be seen whether he is stepped up to a mile-and-a-quarter for a potential meeting with Derby winner Golden Horn.

“He’s a very good horse,” said O’Brien. “I don’t think we’ve had a miler as good as him, I think he’s the best.

“He’s never going to get as high in the ratings because he only ever really does enough. I’m surprised he won by two-and-a-half lengths to be honest because that’s not really his style. But he’s a very classy horse.”

There was a surprise in the King’s Stand Stakes, with Goldream (20-1) edging out Medicean Man (50-1) in a finish that few could have foreseen.

With reigning champion Sole Power failing to reproduce his usual turn of foot, and the heavily-backed Muthmir outpaced in third position, Goldream bolted clear to hand trainer Robert Cowell his second success in the biggest sprint race on the calendar following Prohibit’s victory in 2011.

County Durham-trained Mecca’s Angel was a late withdrawal an hour or so before the race, with Michael Dods deciding that the ground had become too firm for his stable star.

Having walked the course before racing, Dods watched French raider Solow claim the opening Queen Anne Stakes in a quicker-than-average time before concluding that the going had turned against Mecca’s Angel.

Dods’ hopes of a first Royal Ascot success now switch to two-year-old Easton Angel, who is vying for favouritism in tomorrow’s Queen Mary Stakes (3.05).

An authoritative winner of Beverley’s Hilary Needler Stakes, Easton Angel is now half-owned by the Qatar-based Al Shaqab operation, who also own Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Treve.

She will have to outperform the William Haggas-trained favourite Besharah to extend her 100 per cent record, but Dods, who is based at Denton, near Piercebridge, is confident she has improved for her Beverley win.

“She’s come on a lot in the last six weeks,” he said. “Her homework has always been better than what she’s shown on a racecourse, and we weren’t really that impressed with her when she won at Musselburgh first time out.

“The Beverley run was more like what we were hoping to see from her and hopefully she’ll step up again in the Queen Mary. She’s a lot stronger than Mecca’s Angel ever was at this age – she’s always been more of a two-year-old type – and that should hopefully be in her favour because she’s taking another big step up to run at somewhere like Ascot.”