Newmarket: Timepiece surprises in Falmouth Stakes

The winning colors flashing home first at the finish of the Falmouth Stakes on Friday at Newmarket were familiar. The horse beneath them? Not so much.

Timepiece, a Juddmonte Farms homebred trained by Henry Cecil and ridden by Tom Queally, scored by far the biggest win of her career in the Group 1 Falmouth, defeating favored Sahpresa by 1 1/4 lengths in the one-mile race restricted to fillies and mares. Four-year-old Timepiece won for the fifth time in 12 starts, but her previous forays into group stakes competition had been scattered and unsuccessful. Timepiece finished eighth in the 2010 English Oaks last year and had come home a distant third and fourth in two lesser group races earlier this year, but she got a perfect pressing trip in the Falmouth. Racing just behind pace-setting Masaya, Timepiece took the lead about 300 yards from the finish and easily held clear the well-traveled 6-year-old runner-up. First City finished third.

Also at Newmarket on Friday, the Godolphin-owned Gamilati won the Group 2 Cherry Hinton Stakes for 2-year-old fillies by 1 1/2 lengths. Mahmood al Zarooni trains Gamilati, a daughter of Bernardini, and Frankie Dettori, back from a suspension, rode her to victory.