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Exciting Xtension has his day in the sun

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Why you can trust SCMP
Alan Aitken

Even sitting at home in his box yesterday, the Derby winner Ambitious Dragon was an awesome presence as John Moore and Darren Beadman claimed the BMW Champions Mile with Xtension and pencilled in plans for Royal Ascot and quite possibly a Cox Plate.

It was Xtension's day after three second placings from his five runs here, taking advantage of a fool-proof ride from Beadman and claiming Lucky Nine, Musir and Beauty Flash in the final 100m to score in a blanket finish.

'He came here and acclimatised very quickly. He has been a dream to train and very sound, but he has just been unfortunate to find a better one on the day in his other runs,' Moore told the media after Xtension was a well-backed second favourite.

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'Back to 1,600m after the Derby was some kind of gamble but he freshened up well and he's done the job. Now we can look to the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot, which he has already been entered for, and I would love to take him to the Cox Plate later in the year. I have yet to really discuss that with the owner but, if he'd let me take the horse, I think he would be an ideal type for it.'

Beadman said Xtension shuffled out of the stalls, as is usual, but the rest of the race broke perfectly for him.

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'Everywhere I went in the race it worked out perfectly. When I asked him to go, he could have just run with the pack, but he was up for it when the battle came today and knowing he's had the 2,000m of the Derby under the belt I knew he would be tough,' Beadman said. 'It isn't easy for the English horses to come here and acclimatise - especially him being a colt - and handle tracks that are firmer than they would like them. Even though he hasn't won before today, he's done a good job and beat the third by a big margin in the Derby. This win will give him some confidence. And you have to remember he was beaten by a pretty good horse in the Derby.'

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