Local trainer Pat Phelan left a wedding he was attending to saddle Private Project in the one mile two furlongs handicap at Epson.

The sacrifice of leaving the event in Kingswood proved worthwhile with the three-year-old just doing enough after getting her head in front under veteran John Egan to win by a length from Mrembo.

There was no time for the Epsom-based trainer to stay and enjoy the celebrations with the Epsom Racegoers No Three syndicate, as immediately after the presentation to the owners, Phelan was hot footing it back to the wedding venue to enjoy the rest of the evening.

On a good afternoon for the local trainers, Jim Boyle landed the finale on the card when Play Me got up on the line to deny Red Mirage victory in the seven furlongs handicap under a promising ride from apprentice Donagh Murphy.

Modern Times made it two wins from two starts since joining James Owen when edging a tight finish in the six furlongs handicap under David Probert.

The five-year-old had made a successful stable debut at Southwell last month in first-time cheekpieces and defied a three-pound rise to follow up, prevailing in a photo-finish with favourite Sir Garfield.

Owen was also successful in the previous race, Tansy Lane getting off the mark under Kieran Shoemark in the fillies' novice.

The odds-on shot overcame a slow start to pass Desert Symphony close to home and score by a length.

Probert also completed a double when the Sean Woods-trained Loblolly beat three rivals in the one mile half-a-furlong handicap.

The opening race of the day produced a thrilling finish with all five runners in contention. However, the outsider of the quintet Bincimbal from the outside got up on the line to score by a neck.

By Peter Moore