1 Head of State (J Mackay) 8-1 2 Little Flute (Lisa Jones) 20-1 Tote win: �8.70 HEAD OF STATE landed a gamble when seeing off his four rivals in the Merry Christmas From Bet Direct Nursery at Wolverhampton on Monday, despite the fact he was racing from 10lb out of the handicap. The Ralph Becket-trained juvenile opened up at 20-1, but was backed into 8-1 before the off, despte the fact he had been beaten in a seller on his most recent start. However, the half-brother to dual all-weather scorer Beauvrai had clearly improved for that outing and he went on to win the five furlong contest in fine style. Confidently ridden by Jamie Mackay, Head Of State was sent straight to the front, where he engaged in a battle for the lead with the odds on favourite Blue Power. As the field swung for home he had burnt Blue Power off, with that rival folding tamely. From then on Head Of State always looked likely to hang on, even though the eventual runner-up Little Flute threw down a determined challenge inside the final furlong. Ralph Beckett explained after the race that Head Of State was a "slow learner" for whom the penny had only recently started to drop. He pointed out that when the Primo Domini colt had been beaten in a seller over the same course and distance in October, he had been trailing the field by 10 lengths after a slow start and had actually finished quite well once he got the hang of things. The Lambourn trainer went on to say that he had fancied him strongly for a race on the card at Wolverhampton when the meeting was abandoned earlier this month, hence the reason connections had their money down on Monday.