125/1 Winner at Beverley

Leon Hughes / 9:55 AM GMT • 9th June, 2024

2 minutes

Perfect Part fulfills owner ambitions at a whopping 125/1.

Debutante Perfect Part caused a stunning upset at 125-1 odds in the Hilary Needler Trophy, a race that her local owner, Keith Brown, had been striving to win for five decades. Brown, who resides just eight miles away in Swanland and works in the property business, had purchased her for only £10,000 at the breeze-up sales in April. Despite facing seven previous winners in this traditional trial for Royal Ascot two-year-olds, she triumphed by half a length over the 7-2 favorite, Maw Lam, under jockey Cam Hardie.

Although Brown did not place a bet on his Brian Ellison-trained filly, he expressed his satisfaction: "I don't gamble. I'll start betting when I see a bookie riding around on a bike. They've all got bigger cars than me, so I’ll leave it alone."

Achieving this victory was particularly sweet for Brown, who had entered the race numerous times over the past 50 years without success. "It's a real thrill. I've always wanted to win this race. I've had about a dozen runners in it, and it's a good race to win."

Brown has a knack for finding talented horses at a bargain, having previously owned Queen Elizabeth II Stakes second-place finisher, Top Notch Tonto, bought for just €3,000 as a foal. "She breezed brilliantly but was a late foal and doesn’t have the size," Brown explained. "I think that's why I got her so cheap. It was mitigating circumstances."

Brian Ellison Trainer

When it comes to his record with racehorses running for the first time, Ellison's statistics reveal a mixed performance. Over the past 21 days, for example, his win rate on the flat has been 5.26%, with one win out of 19 runs, and 11.11% over National Hunt races, with one win out of nine runs​ . Historically, his overall strike rate has been around 9.6%, although this has seen a slight decline recently to 8.4%​ 

Brian Ellison 1st Time Runner Stats