Smokey Oakey a 20-1 winner at Sandown

Smokey Oakey held on gamely for a surprise 20-1 victory in a first-rate but rain-softened renewal of the Group 3, $99,000 Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown Park on Thursday evening.

Smokey Oakey, a 4-year-old bought as a yearling for just $16,000, got to the line under Jimmy Quinn a neck in front of multiple group race winner Maraahel with the 9-4 favorite Pipedreamer third, a half-length behind the runner-up.

Trained by Mark Tompkins, Smokey Oakey finished the 1 1/4 miles in 2:11.57.

The soft ground played havoc with some of the big names in the race. Happy Boy, absent since winning the Maktoum Challenge in January, was ninth, beaten 14 lengths, while last year's St. Leger winner, Lucarno, finished 18 1/4 lengths behind in 11th.

* The Epsom Derby lost one but may have gained another on Thursday. Trainer Aidan O'Brien said it was unlikely that his dual 2000 Guineas winner Henrythenavigator would run, especially if the ground remained soft. Meanwhile, Dermot Weld said that he would urge Moyglare Stud Farm to ante up the $148,000 supplementary fee necessary to get Casual Conquest into the race, despite concerns over the Hernando colt's lack of experience after just two races, the most recent in the Group 2 Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial.