MURRYS ACT added another major title to his impressive CV when producing a stirring run to win a brilliant £10,000 Coral Essex Vase Final at Romford on Friday – and will again be aimed at the Star Sports English Derby at Towcester.

Owned and trained by Kevin Boon, last year’s Derby fourth who also won the Juvenile and Champion Stakes before running-up in the Yarmouth Derby in a stellar 2017, Murrys Act was led out of the boxes by a fast-starting Oakfield Caesar (John Mullins) who set a furious pace up front.

The eventual winner was soon giving chase, however, while favourite Roswell Romanov was last as the runners passed the winning line on the first circuit after a first-bend bump but rallied brilliantly to move into third place down the back for the final time.

However, it was Murrys Act who challenged leader Oakfield Caesar first and took up the running up the home straight, chased through by Roswell Romanov. At the line the winner had three-quarters of a length to spare over Roswell Romanov in 35.34sec (+20).

Liam Aspin, a kennelhand at Boon’s near Kings Lynn, Norfolk, kennels received the trophy from Romford’s retail operations manager Carol Chown-Smith, with superstitious Boon opting to watch the race at home, as he explained.

“Liam has done a fantastic job throughout the Essex Vase. He travelled down to Romford for both the heats and semi-finals and, while I was supposed to be away for the final anyway, I couldn’t go in the end – but still let him carry on the good work at Romford!

“I didn’t want to change a winning routine. He gets on fabulously with Murrys and I’m delighted for Liam. He’s not been with us long but has settled in great and this is the icing on the cake in many ways. Murrys has just run a blinder – again!

“He’d have been in the Essex Vase had it been run in December, so I suppose there’s chance he’ll be back to defend his title later this year! But I’ll now sit down and frame a plan around the Derby. He’ll likely not go to Scotland but will have some time off then we’ll think about Towcester.”

The supporting card at Romford, which featured two Category Ones final including the Coral Essex Vase, saw an impressive Hazel Kemp-trained treble as Slippy Maggie, Slippy Maska and last-race winner Master Kelly struck for the Towcester handler.