JOCKEY Cieren Fallon made long trip to Redcar pay off today as he rode his first winner since breaking his back in two places in a fall at Windsor a month ago.

Fallon scored a victory for William Haggas on debutante Cognisance and was in reflective mood in the winner’s enclosure.

"It feels great to be back. It's been hard mentally, and very frustrating, but the boss has stood by me. It was a major setback, but I've grown as a person,” said Fallon after landing the Start Your Racing TV Free Trial Fillies’ Novice Stakes by three-and-a-half lengths from the well-backed favourite Bernalda (see main picture).

The daughter of Sea The Stars cost 225,000 guineas as a foal and looks like a filly with a bright future. Fallon, who was riding his 100th winner for Haggas, said: “I was very impressed with the filly. She has a great temperament and was very professional. I'm very taken with her – she showed a great attitude and hit the line very strongly. I definitely think she's a black-type filly."

There was also a likeable debut from Diablo Rojo, a 325,000 guineas yearling, in the Racing TV Free Trial British EBF Novice Stakes.

The Pinatubo colt, trained at Lambourn by Raphael Fraire, stretched clear under David Egan, in the Amo Racing colours, to beat Karl Burke’s promising newcomer Arabian Angel

Winning rider David Egan was clearly impressed, saying: "It was very smooth. He quickened nicely and accelerated all the way through the line.

"I like him a lot. I've ridden him in a number of pieces of work and he's been working nicely. I'd like to think he would improve as time goes on."

There was a popular win for a legend of the sport, Sir Michael Stoute, as Red Pixie held on to win the feature Woodsmith Construction Group Fillies' Handicap in the hands of PJ McDonald.

The Kingman filly had a nose to spare over the fast-finishing Zapphire, trained by Julie Camacho.

McDonald revealed that Zapphire’s jockey, Tom Kiely-Marshall, had shouted “Did I get you?” as the pair pulled up.

"I wasn’t sure,” admitted McDonald. “I wasn't happy going down because she was a bit revved up, but she's travelled beautifully through the race and stayed the trip well.

"I probably sat on her a bit longer than I should have done but she reserved enough energy to get the job done. She wants to win and is going the right way. It's great to get on these horses when they come up north."

Ed Bethell bought See That Storm for £35,000 out of the Andrew Balding stable, and the three-year-old colt scored at the first time of asking for his new yard by decisively landing the Free Racing TV At Racingtv.com/freetrial Handicap under Callum Rodriguez.

The Middleham trainer said: "He's a lovely type of horse - a really good stamp. It was his first run on turf but that was clearly no problem and he'll continue to be progressive. Hopefully, he'll get us the purchase price back in time."

Owner Richard Christison, who has a construction business at Doncaster, said: "I'm looking forward to having a lot of fun with him. I started out in a syndicate, but I thought I'd have a go on my own, and it's going well so far."

Richard also has dual winner Quantum Leap with the Bethell yard. That horse is entered at Hamilton on Saturday.

Rhys Elliott continues to catch the eye in the apprentice ranks and he made it ten wins for the season by leading all the way on Stormy Pearl to win the Visit racingtv.com Handicap.

Stormy Pearl, trained at Bolam by David Thompson, had dead-heated under Elliott at Hamilton last week but was in command this time, despite taking a wayward path in the closing stages.

Elliott, who is attached to the Michael Dods yard, said: "At the start of the season, I'd have been happy to get 10 rides, so to have 10 winners is unbelievable.

"The plan today was to keep it simple and make all. We used a bit of gas to get to the front and then got a breather into her. She drifted again but I think she's just looking for company.

"She's in great form, so she can definitely win again, and David does a great job with his horses. It's going really well for me, and I can't thank everyone enough for their support."

The day ended with a winner for Newcastle United fans as Star of St James won the AJA Novice Flat Amateur Jockeys' Handicap in the hands of Stephanie Dorey for Ivan Furtado.

It was Stephanie's second career win and her first ride for Ivan. "That's not a bad strike rate, eh?" she said.

Stephanie rides out for Ivan every Wednesday and regularly partners the winner.

She said: "He always pings the gate well and the plan was to let him bowl along. If nothing joined us, we'd make the running and go for it. That's what we did. He's a horse who loves the ladies!"

Ivan added: "He's been a bit unlucky, finishing second three times in a row, and we were a bit concerned about the ground, but maybe it's not as quick as we thought.

"It's nice for Stephanie to win for us because she rides out for us every week and we know her well."