Sixties Icon's head in front

Sixties Icon is a step closer to the Breeders' Cup Marathon after a hard-fought victory in the 1 5/8-mile and 61-yard Geoffrey Freer Stakes at Newbury on Saturday.

Winner of the 2006 St. Leger Stakes for trainer Jeremy Noseda, Sixties Icon put his stamina to good use in the Group 3, $121,000 Geoffrey Freer, outdueling Tempelstern under Johnny Murtagh for a short head win.

By Galileo out of English Oaks winner Love Divine, Sixties Icon won the 1 1/2-mile Group 3 Glorious Stakes at Goodwood just two weeks ago. He will probably have one more start before traveling to Santa Anita for the 1 1/2-mile Marathon, which would be his first race on a synthetic surface.

Sent off as the 2-1 favorite, Sixties Icon covered the distance on good to soft ground in 2:51.55. Geordieland, second last time in the 2o1/2-mile Ascot Gold Cup, finished fifth of nine, 4 1/2 lengths behind the winner.

* The 6-5 Paco Boy showed a sharp turn of foot in winning the Group 2, $186,000 Hungerford Stakes by 4 1/2 lengths from Al Qasi.

Trained by Richard Hannon and ridden by Ryan Moore, the 3-year-old Paco Boy got the seven furlongs in 1:24.35.

He has now won 5 of his last 6 starts, among them the seven-furlong Group 3 Greenham Stakes, and will try that distance again when he travels to Longchamp on Oct. 4 for the Group 1 Prix de la Foret.