Drawn highest of all in stall 20, Mick Appleby’s sprinter got off to a decent start but was not quick enough to grab the early lead, with that honour going to Lexington Blitz who blazed a trail down the centre of the track for much of the five-furlong contest.

He opened a decent gap over the rest of the field approaching the final furlong, but with the rail to help, Arklow Lad (7-1) bridged the gap late on under Harry Davies and got up to prevail by three-quarters of a length, with Vintage Clarets also coming home to good effect to beat Lexington Blitz to second.

Appleby did not make the trip to Epsom, but told the Press Association: “I had three horses running in the same race at Doncaster, so I had to go and saddle there.

“He did it very well. We were pretty confident to be fair as we had a good draw, the ground was in his favour and he’s quick, so I thought he’d run well.

“I think he’d have won at York last time if we hadn’t decided to go across the track. We’ve had a bit of a quiet spell, so it’s nice to see him get his head in front and get us back with a big winner.

“We’ll have a look and see where we’re going to go with him next.”

Davies added: “It was pretty straightforward for me, I had a very good draw, held a nice position on the fence and in that sort of race you just go for it and see what happens.

“I was just focused on keeping my slot so I wasn’t really watching what was going on in the middle. I know my horse has plenty of speed so it was a case of not going too soon, especially on ground like this.

“I won on him off a low weight at Pontefract, but I was impressed with him that day so when I was asked to ride him today it was a definite ‘yes’.”