Under the tutelage of the 1996 silver medallist and America's Cup skipper, Ian Walker, she and her crew spent six winter months in Palma de Mallorca, 10 days on, four days off, sailing six or seven hours a day. "He [Walker] is fantastic and won't let us get away with anything, but that's fine," Robertson says "He has brought us discipline on the race course. When she smiles, even Mr Colgate cannot compete and in the southern French sunshine of Hy?s, Shirley Robertson was flashing one of her finest. In the marina was her white, brand new boat, a 20ft Yngling for her crew, Sarah Webb and Sarah Ayton to fuss over. Also in the mix are Rince Ri and the Royal & SunAlliance Chase winner, Rule Supreme.The most scrutinised horse in Britain today will be a beast which looks like a jumper and behaves like one, in that he seems to return every season. Persian Punch is back to the coalface once more at the age of 11 in the Sagaro Stakes at Ascot, a contest which has sadly slipped off the television listings.The old horse usually takes a couple of runs to get the stiffness out of his limbs and a better bet is MISTERNANDO (nap 2.40), who progressed rapidly at the end of last season.The Free Handicap form is tested in the Pavilion Stakes and should be well advertised as the Newmarket runner-up, Moonlight Man (next best 4.25), has ticks in all the right boxes.. He'll probably have one run before Christmas and then another around Christmas itself."My heart was in my mouth today, but the horse is as tough as nails and Barry [Cash, his jockey] knows him so well.

Colm Murphy's runner triumphed with what is becoming trademark tenacity, hanging on by a short-head. Soon it will be time to try him at the highest level."There was a question mark today regarding the ground drying out, but he's unreal," Murphy said "Every time he works he frightens you. We must aim at the big boys now so the King George will be the target. There's nowhere else to go."Lord Sam had been forced to miss Cheltenham with an infection, but one Festival winner, the Supreme Novices' Hurdle victor Brave Inca, extended his winning sequence to seven yesterday in his homeland. That was a lovely finish to the season."We now know he goes at a variety of trips. We'll start off in a two-mile race at Navan in November, which he won last year, and the King George [VI Chase at Kempton] is a very real possibility.

But that will be a bit of a finding-out exercise."Boxing Day at Sunbury is also on the agenda for Victor Dartnall's Lord Sam, who yesterday won a novice chase light on numbers yet laden with drama. All four runners jumped the last within a length of each other, but it was Lord Sam's head which poked out furthest at the line."He's a class horse and I'm delighted with that," Dartnall said. The only problem was provided by Rathgar Beau, who harried Moscow Flyer to the line but went down by two lengths."Barry said it was the nicest ride he has ever had from the horse in this country," Harrington said "They went a good gallop and he was switched off. "He'd have preferred three miles but he had been quick enough over two and a half when he won at Kempton. Racing in the colours of Jumeirah Racing - the second-division string of the Maktoum operation - he got up in the last stride to deny The Crooked Ring by a short head."That's my first runner for 'The Firm', so that's not bad," Richard Hannon, the winning trainer, said.