Robert Havlin might have been forced to ditch Plan A early on aboard Orne but it failed to stop the pair from proving the ones to beat in the re-arranged Betfred Horris Hill Stakes at Newmarket on Saturday.  

The John and Thady Gosden-trained son of Acclamation made it two wins from three starts after bouncing back to winning ways in the seven-furlong Group Three which was transferred to the Rowley Mile from the card at Newbury that fell victim to the weather last weekend. 

After making a winning debut at Kempton Park, the Al Shaqab Racing-owned colt appeared to fail to see out the mile on his last start when finishing fourth at the same level in the Emirates Autumn Stakes on the Rowley Mile behind subsequent Group One winner Ancient Wisdom 21 days ago. 

Racing front rank among those in the far side group the 10-1 chance held a clear advantage on the run down to the final quarter of a mile as the field began to emerge into one down the centre of the track. 

Despite being faced with a host of challengers Orne, who appeared to look like being swallowed up by the chasing pack, continued to find plenty out in front under Havlin, who won the 2015 renewal of the race aboard Crazy Horse. 

Although drifting left on the final climb to the line it was not enough to prevent Orne from securing victory by a length and a quarter from Witness Stand with Son Of Man a further three-quarters of a length adrift in third. 

Havlin said: “It wasn’t the plan to make the running. He went last in, but he was first out. Normally he doesn’t do a stroke when he is in front. I went on a fresh bit of ground, and he found a rhythm.

“Just towards the end he got a little bit lonely and ducked left, but he has done it well in the end. 

“It wasn’t the plan to go on the far side as I wanted to drop in and get a lead and get there late. When I ended up in front I could see there was fresh ground there so I thought I might as well go there.  

“I could go where I wanted then as I was in front and make a different plan.”

Looking to next year, Havlin feels that Orne could be better suited to dropping back further in trip. 

Havlin added: “He didn’t stay the mile in the Autumn Stakes. He travelled good and he handled the ground, but he just didn’t stay. He could get quicker this horse over the winter. 

“It is nice to get another Group winner on the board before the end of the season as I was running out of time.”