West Ilsley trainer Mick Channon enjoyed a change of fortune as Samitar swooped to claim victory in the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot today.

Channon’s runners had failed to trouble the judge this week, with Gatepost notably finishing a luckless fifth in the Coventry Stakes. But Samitar (16-1), a half-sister to Nijoom Dubai, who won the Group 3 contest for Channon in 2007, lifted the trainer’s spirits by powering past Inetrobil to score by three-quarters of a length.

Channon said: “We’ve had our fair share of bad luck this week, what with the Coventry and a few other races.

“But I kept saying to everybody they were running great, we just need them to win.”