ONE of the biggest gambles of the season to date was landed at Goodwood yesterday as Franklin D, trained by the in-form Michael Bell and ridden by Ryan Moore, just held on to land the very valuable Betfred Mile.

Some 10lb ahead of the official handicapper and a facile winner at Newmarket last time, the 7/4 favourite always held a good pitch from his perfect draw in stall one but had to wait for a gap inside the two furlong pole as Cambridgeshire winner Third Time Lucky made the best of his way home and Master The World began to make progress.

Finally surging between horses, Franklin D went a length clear but Master The World and Pat Dobbs were gaining with every stride and there was only a head in it at the line with Donncha third and previous winner Belgian Bill fourth.

impossibly short

One can only guess at the feelings of those who backed the winner right through the day, to a seemingly impossibly short SP, when the principals flashed across the line.

For Michael Bell and the Gredleys it made for a perfect meeting, Big Orange having won the Goodwood Cup 24 hours earlier. Bell admitted that winning that race had relaxed him a little ahead of yesterday.

“There was a bit of pressure and he ended up a ridiculous price but the punters got it right,” the trainer said with a smile. “I had every confidence in the horse and we had arguably the best jockey in the word on top.

“Ryan said he had to use quite a bit of gas to get a position early on because they were coming across from the outside and that was probably why Franklin D was coming to the end of his tether late on. How far we can go up the ladder, I don’t really know but we’ll start off in a Group 3 and take our time. The Sovereign Stakes at Salisbury looks attractive but there races abroad as well, of course.”

This victory took Moore to the top of the Racing UK Top Jockey table and he was as taciturn as ever afterwards, without ever being as grim as the media likes to make out.

“You had to wait for it to happen,” he said. “He settled in nicely behind and I always felt we would get the gaps.”