Racing: Eswarah's brilliance gives Jarvis the lead role

In the year that the nation celebrated its greatest victory in another sporting endeavour, Michael Jarvis's successful connection with Epsom began as he led up Charlottown before his win in the 1966 Derby.

In the year that the nation celebrated its greatest victory in another sporting endeavour, Michael Jarvis's successful connection with Epsom began as he led up Charlottown before his win in the 1966 Derby.

Almost four decades on, the former head lad to Gordon Smyth found out himself what it was like to train an Epsom Classic winner yesterday. Eswarah won the Oaks for Jarvis, jockey Richard Hills and owner Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum but, most of all, she won for enthusiasts who like to see a quality animal ripple up the straight over the Surrey Downs.

Eswarah really was that good and the greatest virtue of yesterday's achievement is that Something Exciting, the noble runner-up, will almost certainly prove to be a filly worthy of her name later in the season.

Eswarah, bracelet in Arabic, was one of several inconvenienced by a staccato tempo to the Classic. The field rushed from the stalls, led much of the way by Magical Romance, then slowed down considerably, midway through the journey.

Eswarah, the least experienced filly in the field and about the smallest, took some time to settle to these rhythms but, by the time the pack turned for home, she was ready to pounce. Hills sent his partner on from over two furlongs out, a bold call for a filly who had never raced over 12 furlongs before. She did not betray his trust.

"I went when I went because I knew she would have something in reserve," the jockey said. "I asked her for more and she gave me it. She was changing her legs because she went up through the gears so quickly. I was surprised when something came with me. I thought I'd opened up five lengths."

It was a necessity that the 11-4 joint favourite (the other market leader, Virginia Waters, was fourth) had to quicken twice, once to go clear and then again to repel. Eswarah has done the pretty things in her short career before yesterday and now she proved she could win ugly too. The little filly put her head down and engaged. Eventually, the yellow colours of Something Exciting started to subside.

"I thought I'd pick them up when I wanted, but, in the end, I was outstayed by a better filly," Richard Quinn, the runner-up's jockey, said. Eswarah's battling qualities mean that David Elsworth was thwarted yet again in his ambition to saddle a British Classic winner. The manner of glorious defeat was a tempering factor. "She has run a terrific race," Elsworth said. "She went to join the winner and I thought we had her. Richard did too."

It was the manoeuvres of the other Richard which ultimately proved decisive. "I thought she might have gone to the front too soon," Jarvis said, "but, when Something Exciting came to us, it was clear that Richard had made the winning move.

"She had never been in a tussle before and you do not know how they are going to react when the chips are down, but she has got that wonderful turn of foot.

"This means an awful lot to me. I have been doing this job for a long time, but you never get used to the excitement. She sweated when she went to post today and I did the same."

After three races in five weeks, Eswarah will now be allowed to enjoy the fruits of her labour. Royal Ascot is out, though the Irish Oaks remains as a possibility on the agenda, with the Yorkshire version also a consideration.

We can also look forward to more of the same from Yeats, who used the vehicle of the Coronation Cup to reintroduce himself to success in top-level racing. Aidan O'Brien's colt led all the way to win by two and a half lengths and conjure thoughts of what might have been 12 months ago, when a muscle problem absented the ante-post favourite from the Derby.

Now further competitive peaks beckon and connections can perm from the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes, the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and Breeders' Cup Turf.