Autumn Glory picked up where he left off last season by winning in impressive fashion on his reappearance at Doncaster yesterday.

Geoff Wragg's progressive five-year-old took the Darley Stakes on an easy surface at Newmarket on his final start last year and with conditions in his favour on Town Moor, he kept up the good work in the Stanleybet Doncaster Mile.

The 15-8 joint-favourite hardly came off the bridle under Steve Drowne in the Listed event to beat his market rival Hurricane Alan by a cosy length-and-a-half.

Autumn Glory had won the Lincoln consolation race, the Spring Mile, last year but has clearly improved by leaps and bounds since then.

"He just had an exercise gallop really," Wragg said afterwards. "He's a lovely genuine horse. He's a genuine Group horse too.

"I had him in the Lincoln but I took him out because he had too much weight. Where he'll go next I'm not sure but I have put him in the Lockinge."

Tarraman kept up the recent good run of Mark Johnston's horses with a hard-fought success in the Badsworth Maiden Stakes.

The Middleham trainer had saddled four winners already this week and Tarraman made it five but the heavily-backed 5-6 favourite had to be kept up to his work by Kevin Darley to land a string of four-figure bets.

After racing prominently, Tarraman led inside the final furlong and just held on by half-a-length from the fastfinishing Munsef with Top The Charts a head back in third.

The winner is entered in the UltimatePoker.com 2000 Guineas and the Vodafone Derby but his victory hardly caused a ripple in the Classic market with William Hill going 16-1 about the colt for the 2,000 Guineas.

Phantom Whisper, a good winner on his debut at Lingfield 12 days ago, defied his 4lb penalty to follow up in the Mind Games Bearstone Stud Brocklesby Conditions Stakes.

Alan Munro always had Rod Millman's 9-2 shot in touch with the leaders on the stands side as Danjet cut out the running on the far rail.

Danjet drifted towards the centre approaching the final furlong and Munro took his chance and booted Phantom Whisper into the lead. The youngster quickened away to win in good style by two-anda-half lengths.

Munro was riding his fifth winner since recently returning to Britain after almost eight years following a spell in Hong Kong and a four-year sabbatical.

Merlin's Dancer made all the running under the stand rail to take the six-furlong doncaster- racecourse. com Handicap by a length-andthreequarters from Tom Tun.

The winner was trained by "sprint king" David Nicholls and was ridden by his son Adrian.

Ralph Beckett is another trainer to have made a good start to the Flat turf season and was on the mark for the second time this week when Come On Jonny (12-1) came fast and late under Seb Sanders to take the Balby Handicap by a length from Duroob.

Greenwich Meantime had got favourite backers off to a good start with a comfortable victory in the opening Northern Racing College Apprentice Handicap.

The well-supported 4-1 chance was given a good ride by up-and-coming jockey Danny Tudhope, who had kept enough back to hold the late challenge of Dance To My Tune by two lengths.