BEING athletic in build is not essential to succeed in racing, where looks can often be deceptive.
Dubai Dynamo, for instance, will never win any prizes in the paddock, such is his rather portly appearance.
So much so that his likeable trainer, Ruth Carr, is often embarrassed when the nine-year-old gelding works on his North Yorkshire gallops, when he is often mistaken for a hunter chaser.
Happily for Carr, Dubai Dynamo continually has a knack of producing the goods where it only ever matters.
Sent off a 4-1 chance for the Swan Industrial Drives Handicap, the son of Kyllachy rarely looked like adding to his 12 career wins as he was anchored towards the rear of the pack for much of the race.
Even inside the final furlong it still looked a lost cause as fellow veteran Shadowtime appeared poised for another Beverley triumph.
But a streetwise handicapper like Dubai Dynamo has been in this position countless times, and galloped towards the line with the same boundless enthusiasm of a once-raced maiden, rather than a horse making his 114th appearance.
A neck separated the protagonists in a cut-and-thrust finish that is unlikely to replicated for quite some time on the Westwood.
"He's fat and massive, but he's my superstar," said Carr.
"He was one of my first decent horses when I started racing and he means so much to me.
"He's going to be very hard to replace when the day comes."
Easter Sky's career is only in its relative infancy, but many good days await his connections judged by the French import's all-the-way success in the Peter Walford Memorial Handicap.
Successful joint-owner Roger Fell said: "I actually thought he'd have won even easier than he did, but he seemed to get spooked a bit by the crowd."
The preceding Strawberry Sprint Stakes looked, on paper at least, an even greater conundrum for punters to solve.
And so it proved, as Money Team, having his first start for 199 days and without any credible form on his last six starts, won a shade convincingly on his first outing for David Baron.
The Thirsk handler said: "He's a grand old horse with plenty of pace and loved that hill."
Real Tigress has also developed a genuine vocation at Beverley as she further underscored the fine work of new local trainer Les Eyre.
The five-year-old mare provided Catwick-based Eyre with a first winner since his return from Spain at Beverley's first meeting of the season.
The double was achieved with even greater finesse in the seven-and-a-half-furlong handicap as she trotted four lengths clear.
Clouds Rest, conversely, did not really appreciate Beverley's challenging sprint course in the opening five-furlong maiden, but still had enough wherewithal to deny Free Entry by a nose.
Richard Fahey's assistant, Robin O'Ryan, said: "The track nearly found her out, but she's a real pro and looks a picture."
Dubai Dynamo is certainly no oil painting, but racing seldom honours style without substance.BEVERLEY RESULTS: 2.05: Clouds Rest 5-6f, Free Entry 17-2, Show Spirit 7-1 2.40: Money Team 8-1, Rural Celebration 8-1, Gold Club 11-1 3.15: Easter Sky 5-1, Mr Red Clubs 16-1, Ever Fortune 3-1 3.50: Dubai Dynamo 4-1, Shadowtime 12-1, Ingleby Symphony 10-1 4.25: Full Day 11-4, Rookery 10-1 5.00: Real Tigress 3-1f, Juvenal 25-1, Day Of The Eagle 12-1 5.30: Mariners Moon 15-8f, The Dukkerer 7-1, Lynngale 16-1
