Hamilton joy for Corsica

MARK Johnston's stable lifted one of the most prestigious races on the Hamilton Park calendar last night when Corsica ran away with the £45,000 Glasgow Stakes, with Frankie Dettori last of the four runners on Godolphin's odds-on favourite Layali Al Andalus.

Dettori had headed north by helicopter from the final day of York's Dante meeting and his presence sent confidence soaring in the betting ring that Layali Al Andalus – trained by Johnston last year before switching to Godolphin – would make his trip worthwhile.

The Saaed Bin Suroor runner was backed heavily down to 4-6 on the strength of his 2009 form, which included a close second behind current Derby favourite St Nicholas Abbey. But Dettori was soon sending out distress signals as his mount patently failed to stay the one mile, three-furlong trip.

The winner, sent off a generous 11-2 was completing a four-timer, having finished 2009 with a victory and opened this new campaign with back-to-back victories, and was kept up to his work well by Joe Fanning to score in this Listed contest from Admission, ridden by Hayley Turner.

In the other big race at Hamilton, Jim Goldie's Hillview Boy won the Belstane Racing Stables Braveheart Handicap, with Dettori only third on the 11-8 favourite Tinaar.

Turning to this weekend, connections of Paco Boy could be forgiven for feeling a little hard done by as their horse has largely failed to garner the praise he is due over recent seasons.

However, the five-year-old can cement his place as the top miler in Britain by taking the totesport.com Lockinge Stakes at the second attempt.

There had long been a suspicion that Richard Hannon's charge was a seven-furlong specialist and defeat as hot favourite for this Group 1 last year sparked all the doubts about his stamina again. It later transpired Paco Boy had competed with an infected foot and he went on to silence the critics with an imperious display in the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot a month later.

A fine effort to finish fourth in the July Cup followed and he then found only Rip Van Winkle too strong in the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood, to whom he was conceding 8lb. The vibes from the Hannon camp before his comeback at Sandown suggested he was better than ever and the way he brushed aside a decent field gives this theory plenty of weight. The likely fast ground in Berkshire will help Paco Boy use what is a devastating turn of foot.

Godolphin's Claremont has shown enough on his first couple of starts since returning from Dubai to suggest he can land the totepool Aston Park Stakes.

The four-year-old failed to cut much ice at Meydan, but the winter sun had clearly done him good as he put up a fine performance to finish third behind the classy Harbinger at Newbury.

He then pulled too hard for his own good in the Jockey Club Stakes at Newmarket but again ran respectably to pick up some more place prize-money. This step up in trip looks certain to suit and he should be there or thereabouts.

Hannon's My Son Max did the job well on his Nottingham introduction and can maintain his unbeaten record in Newmarket's 32Redpoker.com Novice Stakes. He went about the task in hand with a professionalism that we have could to expect from the trainer's juveniles and subsequent success for the third home Sir Lunchalott gives the form a solid look. My Son Max is bound to improve again and gets the nod in a competitive event.

Royal Swain bumped into a useful performer when second on his latest visit to Thirsk and he can go one better on his return to the Yorkshire track in the Whitby Maiden Stakes.

The Sir Michael Stoute-trained Lay Claim looks the best bet at Doncaster's evening fixture in the Multifab Metals Engineering & Fabrication Handicap.

Tot Of The Knar offered encouragement at Bangor last month, and the TurfTV.co.uk Handicap Chase looks made to measure.

Ellen Tilley should also hit the mark in the Crabbies Alcoholic Ginger Beer Mares' Handicap Hurdle at Uttoxeter.

Exit Smiling can give punters the last laugh by winning the feature race at Ripon tomorrow.

The eight-year-old is a regular at the North Yorkshire venue and is a course and distance winner. However, on his last visit he found the 10 furlongs beyond him as he finished fourth to Kings Gambit in a stronger race. He ran much better than his final position suggests when ninth to Osteopathic Remedy in the Thirsk Hunt Cup when only beaten three and a quarter lengths.

A return to his happy hunting ground can result in victory for Exit Smiling in the 16,000 Ripon, Yorkshire's Garden Racecourse Handicap.