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John and Thady Gosden’s Arrest enhanced his St Leger credentials with a commanding victory in the Group 3 Geoffrey Freer Stakes at Newbury.

The Juddmonte-owned colt was sent off favourite to land the Epsom Derby back in June, but failed to handle the undulations and finished a well-beaten tenth behind Auguste Rodin. However, the return to this more conventional track combined with the step up in trip saw the son of Frankel in a much better light as he bounded clear before being eased down for a one-and-a-half-length success.

The David Simcock-trained Ching Shih ran on well from off the pace to grab second but was ultimately no match for the well-backed 5/6 market leader, who made sure Frankie Dettori's sole ride of the day was a winning one.

Arrest was cut from the 12/1 to 7/1 by Paddy Power to land the Betfred St Leger at Doncaster next month.

Dettori said: "Everyone expected the ground to be a bog, but it's good to soft. He was the Derby favourite, so he had to do that.

"He's one card for the St Leger, but let's see how Gregory gets on next Wednesday [Great Voltigeur Stakes].

"He's one of a bunch of top horses John is sending to York, it's a very strong team and I can't wait.

"Soft ground is not an issue with him, if it's soft at Doncaster it would be fine."