FORMER champion Michael Roberts showed that his skills remain intact with a superb effort to deliver Artful Dane a winner of the Worthington Spring Mile at Doncaster yesterday.

He expertly switched the 10 to 1 chance to the middle of the track and waited until two furlongs out before sending his mount to the front.

Roberts' ploy helped Artful Dane set up a useful advantage which enabled him to hold the fast-finishing favourite Shinerolla by three-parts of a length.

Roberts' riding came under the scrutiny of the stewards who inquired into his use of the whip from the two furlong marker.

They decided that the jockey had used his whip to encourage his mount but he had given the horse time to respond before using his whip again and the stewards took no action.

Trainer Michael Heaton-Ellis predicts more improvement from Artful Dane and has pinpointed next month's Newbury Spring Cup as a possible target.

Several four-figure bets went down the drain as Heritage, (8 to 13) became the first odds-on favourite of the new turf season to be beaten.

Frankie Dettori's mount trailed in a well beaten third as Mithak mastered the newcomer Nambucca inside the final furlong.

Mithak, owned by Hamdan Al Maktoum, had been off the course since finishing third in a Newbury maiden last August because of sore shins.

Roberts went on to complete a double when the well-backed Zaretski seized the Mexborough Maiden.