'She's got a huge future' - Twilight Spinner destroys Listed rivals on third run

What a weekend for Hambleton Racing. On the eve of Group 1 star Glen Shiel's return at the Curragh, Twilight Spinner served notice she could be joining him at the top of the sprinting tree.

Stepped up to Listed class on just her third outing, the three-year-old, who made her debut only a month ago, blew away some smart fillies and mares to follow up her Ripon maiden success by six and a half lengths under Shane Gray.

"I'd like to think she could go to the very top," trainer David O'Meara said after her Cecil Frail Stakes romp.

"She's got a huge future. It's early days in this filly's career, she's still only a frame. To go from a maiden to doing that is pretty something, isn't it?"

The trainer admitted it had been a gamble stepping up in class so quickly with Twilight Spinner, whose dam Spinatrix was a high-class soft-ground 6f winner and sire Twilight Son took the Sprint Cup here in 2015.

But he had been impressed with her first win and said: "I thought she achieved a lot at Ripon, they split and the horses she beat were on the far side – she beat her own side by 12 or 15 lengths. Visually, it looked like she was well above average.

"Shane gave her a great ride today. He got across and he took his time. He said when he gave her a bit of a nudge, she came alive under him."

The owners' day got even better when their Arctic Emperor took the mile handicap under Kieran Shoemark.

Twilight Spinner after winning the Listed Cecil Frail by six and a half lengthsCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

Rainbow delight for Mackie

You can't keep a good man down and John Mackie is back in top form, having survived a crisis that threatened to end his 37-year training career.

He enjoyed a third winner from his last seven runners when Rainbow Jet made a successful reappearance in the 1m2f handicap under Franny Norton.

"Touch wood, the horses are running okay," said Mackie, 66, who admitted that it had been touch and go whether his Derbyshire yard would make it through the pandemic.

"It's been a hard year and a bit and at one stage we looked like we might be going out of business," he said. "We were short on horses, you hold your breath a little and, luckily, we've got a few fresh ones and a couple of fresh owners and things have improved.

"We've got 21 horses in work at the moment and that's feasible, it's all about covering your overheads. We've got a very young team and they do work hard."

Rainbow Jet, who was making a belated start to her campaign after being denied a run when Wetherby was abandoned last week, could be one to fly the flag for Mackie in 2021.

Rainbow Jet (Franny Norton) scores for the in-form John MackieCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

"She's always promised to be a nice filly," the trainer said. "She looks stronger than she was last year.

"She was always like two boards put together and we gave her a good winter with as much grub as we could get into her. I hope she'll go on improving."

Results, analysis and replays

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