William Haggas’ My Oberon has either Dubai or All-Weather Finals Day in his sights after victory in the MansionBet Proud Partners Of The AWC Conditions Stakes at Southwell

The son of Dubawi contested a string of Group races last season, winning the Earl Of Sefton at Newmarket on his seasonal debut, coming home fourth in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes and ending the term with a placed run in the Superior Mile.

Now gelded and running for the first time in since early September, the bay started as the 2-1 favourite but was required to dig slightly deeper than anticipated when challenged by both Diderot and Ayr Harbour in the latter stages of the race.

Despite carrying a 5lb penalty, My Oberon’s ability prevailed and he was ultimately able to produce a half-length success under Tom Marquand.

Haggas said: “I don’t know the merit of the form and My Oberon was a bit rusty, but he put his head down at the end and won.

“He might be a horse who goes well fresh too, so we will have to freshen him up before his next start. He won’t want a lot of training now – he will need a bit of nourishment, not punishment.

“If he gets invited, he will go to Dubai next, but he is 113-rated and did not get invited to Saudi Arabia, so it is not a certainty.

“We are going to run another horse rated higher than him in the Dubai Turf and whether he gets into the Dubai World Cup, I am not sure about that. Otherwise, Newcastle will be the agenda.”

Marquand said: “I was informed walking into the paddock that My Oberon is the highest-rated Flat horse to have run at Southwell, so he was probably due to win.

“It is great to get a win on his reappearance and hopefully it will give him a bit of confidence.

“He had to do it the hard way because I dropped him in a bit further back than I had planned to. The penalty obviously made life tougher, but his class prevailed.”