It had not been a good Friday for Darley before the Scone Cup. The stable had a couple of near misses in the support races, then the cup favourite, Wistful, was scratched after knocking her head in the float. It was left to underrated mare Cameo to turn the day around by winning the feature event.
The four-year-old was given a perfect ride by apprentice Sam Clipperton to secure a one length win from Full Of Spirit and Loaded, which was a further 1-1/4 lengths back in third.
"It was disappointing about Wistful because we had long-term plans to get these mares to this race," Darley boss Henry Plumptre said. "It is great to see Cameo win and get John [O'Shea] off the mark in terms of black type.
"It was a frustrating day for him before that, but racing has a great way of evening things up.
"This mare has been a duffer on the wet tracks and getting back on top of the ground helps her."
Cameo became the third Darley mare to win the Scone Cup in four years after Dysphonia and Raspberries.
"It has been a team effort because Peter Snowden had identified these mares for this race and had them ready to go for John," Plumptre said. "We thought after her last run, Wistful was going to peak for this race but it wasn't to be, but we got the result with Cameo.
"It is great because she will probably go to stud this year."
Cameo gave Clipperton a winning double after he had won earlier on Tail Risk. However, that win came at a cost as he was later suspended for three meetings for careless riding.
