Seven Questions caused something of a shock when striking at odds of 33/1 to land the Group 3 Palace House Stakes at Newmarket.
The George Scott-trained three-year-old had disappointed on his last two outings after a promising effort in Meydan, but proved he was still very much a horse with a future when bouncing back to winning form on Newmarket's Rowley Mile.
Always towards the fore throughout the five-furlong Group 3 prize, Seven Questions displayed plenty of resolute to fend off a whole host of challengers deep inside the furlong.
Vadream, Beautiful Diamond and Twilight Calls all looked to pounce close home, but Seven Questions found sufficient reserves to score by a head under a strong Callum Shepherd. Charlie Fellowes' mare Vadream, who landed the prize in testing conditions twelve months ago, had to settle for the second spot this year-round, with Karl Burke's Beautiful Diamond finishing a further short-head back in third.
"He's not the easiest in the preliminaries," explained trainer George Scott. "He spent the night at Newmarket in the stables because we found when he comes out of his environment into a racing environment, he gets very upset. We saddled him about an hour before and then he came down all guns blazing."
Jockey Callum Shepherd added: "Coming out of the chute he went left; he knows where home is.
"In fairness, I think he's a lot more straightforward than he was last year; other than that, he behaved impeccably so I think in that regard, he's certainly going the right way. He deserved this on what he did last year, he was unlucky in the Mill Reef and ran very well in Dubai on his first start; when he's at his best he's good."
Trainer George Scott was full of praise for rider Callum Shepherd. "He got a bit unbalanced in the dip, but Callum Shepherd is an outstanding rider – he does things on horses you can't teach," said Scott.
"I'm a Newmarket boy and to have winners at our flagship meeting is very special."
