Byzantine wins at Yarmouth after Al Hudaiba unseats Tom Marquand

A race that looked sewn up for the odds-on favorite turned into one of the strangest juvenile finishes of the week, and Byzantine was the horse left standing. When Al Hudaiba jinked sharply and dumped Tom Marquand inside the final furlong at Yarmouth, the British Stallion Studs EBF Novice Stakes was there to be stolen, and George Boughey’s colt took full advantage.

The 7f 3y contest at 15:23 on Thursday, May 28, 2026, brought only five runners to good to firm ground, but it still produced a sharp reminder of how little margin there is in 2-year-old races. Al Hudaiba, a Charlie Appleby-trained grey colt who had won on debut at Newmarket on May 15 and was sent off at 10-11, had travelled strongly and looked in control with a little over two furlongs left. Then came the drift left, the correction, and the sudden right-handed jink that unseated Marquand and turned the race upside down.

Billy Loughnane was in the right place at the right time on Byzantine. The St Mark’s Basilica colt, out of Pulcinella and bred by Pulcinella Partnership, had tracked the leaders before moving into second over 1f out. Once the favourite’s rider was on the ground, Byzantine took a clear lead and kept going, scoring by 2½ lengths for owners Teme Valley and Babington & Partner. The winner collected £7,020, with the runner-up due £3,296 and third £1,648.

The episode was especially costly for the Appleby camp because Al Hudaiba had looked every inch the professional through most of the race. He led at a steady pace, was shaken up over 2f out, then began to hang left when ridden over 1f out before the final, decisive movement that ended his chance. Marquand was able to walk away and later landed another winner on the card before the medical officer stood him down from his final ride, which at least kept the day from becoming anything worse.

For Byzantine, it was a tidy debut win in messy circumstances, and for Yarmouth it was another reminder that juvenile promise can vanish in a stride. Commander’s Intent had won the same novice race in 2025, but this renewal belonged to the colt that stayed straight when the favorite did not.