Roger Varian and Silvestre de Sousa teamed up to land the Listed John Musker Fillies’ Stakes at Yarmouth this afternoon.
Fourth in the race two years ago, Roger Varian's filly was a 17/2 chance this time round, having shaped nicely when finishing fifth in a warm York handicap on her reappearance last month.
The daughter of Muhaarar travelled well for much of the ten-furlong contest before striking the front inside the final furlong. Under an all-action Silvestre De Sousa drive, Roger Varian's five-year-old found plenty for pressure and went on to score by half a length from the staying-on Naomi Lapaglia .
It was a first success since July 2022 for Sound Angela and a first on turf with her three other previous victories all coming on an artificial surface.
"She responded to every effort, and showed a good, willing attitude today," said De Sousa when speaking to Sky Sports Racing.
"Roger places his horses very well, as you see they have been running very consistently. We have had Group winners, Listed winners, every type of winner.
"She's a nice filly going forward, and I think there's a bit more to come.
"I think this is the right trip and as long as she gets the pace, she shows a good turn of foot."
Having finished runner-up on both outings to date, Rossa Ryan was glad to see the Clive Cox -trained Hold A Dream get off the mark on her third start when taking out the British EBF Fillies' Novice Stakes.
Sent off the 5/2 second-favourite, Hold A Dream showed plenty of early pace before fending off Ralph Beckett's Dash Of Azure by a length and a half.
The winning rider said of the performance: "She did it well, she's been pleasing and she's got her head in front which she deserved, and she did it with a bit of style."
"I think she will get further in time, but I don't think she needs to go there just yet, a stiffer six would be fine. She has plenty of speed and when I turned it on, she still hasn't figured out how to drop down and go but that will come, she's going the right way about it."
