Pearl Secret kept his unbeaten record intact in the Novae Bloodstock Insurance Scurry Stakes at Sandown.

David Barron's sprinter was sent off as the 1-3 favourite for the listed contest and was a cosier winner than the winning margin of a neck suggests.

Bryan Smart's front-running Free Zone battled on gamely to be a narrow second, but Richard Hughes didn't pull the whip on the winner despite looking a tad anxious inside the final furlong.

Pearl Secret broke smartly but was taken back by Hughes and was quite free in the first half of the five-furlong dash.

He had no cover on the outside of the six-strong field but was never too far off the leader.

There was an anxious moment when he appeared to jump the path about a furlong out but that did not stop his momentum as he got the upper hand in the final 100 yards.

David Redvers, racing manager to owners Pearl Bloodstock, said: "David (Barron) has been very patient with him and at this stage of his career we want to get as much experience into him as possible.

"If we'd have run him at Royal Ascot we might have lost him and I think the Nunthorpe is the likely target, although he's in the July Cup."

Barron said: "It was always going to be dodgy, partly because of the ground and because you don't want to be stuck on the outside here.

"He's a smashing horse and hopefully he'll keep improving."