Cuckney Bear justified some strong support as he came with a late flourish to land the Weatherbys Bank Handicap at Hamilton.
With three 'duck eggs' to his name, the Ed McMahon-trained gelding had a dark horse look about him and this was soon mirrored in the bookmakers' trading rooms as his price collapsed from 16-1 into his starting price of 4s.
Making his handicap debut, the son of Bertolini was produced with a late run in the hands of Richard Mullen to narrow the gap on front-running Save The Bees before grabbing the prize by a short head on the line.
Part-owner John Fretwell was keen to play down the gamble and said: "This gamble business is purely theatrical. He's just not the sort of horse you would go for a gamble with. He had some problems at two and has grown up, but he's not gamble material."
Even though she opened up long odds-on for the Weatherbys Bank Maiden Stakes, there was a welter of support for Vassaria before she duly landed the spoils by three and a quarter lengths from Shomberg.
Michael Dods' winner was backed in to 1-6 after bets of £55,000 to win £10,000 and £30,000 to win £5,000. The trainer said he would step Vassaria up to seven furlongs and then again to a mile towards the end of the season.
Dandy Nicholls dominated the finish of the Scottish Racing Claiming Stakes as Saucy Brown (9-4) rallied to get up on the line and pip stablemate Sands Of Dee by a head.
The trainer's son Adrian, who rode the winner, said: "That was nice as I've been very quiet over the last couple of months. I knew the other horse doesn't do a lot when in front."
Hot favourite Circle Of Angels blew out completely in the Weatherbys Bloodstock Insurance Handicap, leaving another finish that required the evidence of the camera as Petomic (11-1) caught Just Five to prevail by a head for trainer Richard Guest and jockey Robert Lucey-Butler.
Tim Easterby's Getabuzz (100-30) was another well-backed winner when wearing down Fire Fighter to land the Racing UK Sky 432 Handicap under a strong ride from David Allan.
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