South Dakota (2c St Mark’s Basilica - Palace, by Fastnet Rock) gained a well-deserved first win with a battling victory at Roscommon on Monday. The Coolmore homebred finished a close-up fourth in the Listed Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot to Nola Soul (by Justify) on his second outing and was placed on his two following starts. He battled gamely under Wayne Lordan to get off the mark by a shoulder. South Dakota was positioned prominently and he took up the lead with two furlongs left to run, ultimately coming out on top of a sustained battle with eventual runner-up Joga Bonito. There was a further three and a quarter lengths back to the third. Representing Aidan O'Brien, Chris Armstrong said: “It looked like a lovely race for him but, at declaration time, it was a competitive field. “He's been put in at the deep end in a few races. He's a horse who showed a nice bit of ability at home and that’ll do his confidence the world of good. “Wayne felt he’s improved a lot with every run, especially mentally. He's entered up in plenty of races in the coming weeks and we'll step him up to stakes company now. I think he'll keep progressing over the coming weeks.”