Ottoman won the Percy Sykes Stakes in what turned out to be one of the most thrilling finishes at The Championships Day 2.
Ottoman, ridden by Sam Clipperton, was coming off a tough Golden Slipper campaign, in which she finished ninth in the big race, and was battle-hardened to take on impressive fillies including stablemate Calaverite.
Her toughness was the difference in the end and she held off Calaverite, Lake Geneva and the fast finishing Sempre Libera in a nerve-wracking four-way finish for punters.
Clipperton’s ride was a fine example of why Australia’s Godolphin head trainer John O’Shea is using him on some of the stable’s most prized horses.
He showed patience and poise before taking an opportunity to drive Ottoman through a gap and on to victory.
The win was her third in five races and took her earning to more than half a million dollars for trainer O’Shea.

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