Mullins duo come up short at Belmont

WILLIE MULLINS was out of luck in his American raid at Belmont Park last night when Wicklow Brave and Clondaw Warrior finished out of the frame in the Belmont Gold Cup Invitational.

German raider Red Cardinal (7/2) held off a late-charging British hope St Michel to take the valuable prize over two miles.

Sir Mark Prescott’s four-yearold stayed on strongly but could not catch Red Cardinal, which took the Grade Three prize for German trainer Andreas Wohler in the hands of jockey Eduardo Pedroza.

Wicklow Brave went off the 5/2 favourite and did better than his stablemate Clondaw Warrior but was pipped for third place by Now We Can, with Clondaw Warrior finishing fifth.

Elsewhere, Richard Hughes can testify to the fact that patience is a virtue after Goodwood Crusader completed a hat-trick of wins in the Kew Electrical Handicap at Brighton.

Having left the Lambourn handler scratching his head on numerous occasions, the son of Sir Prancealot continued his revival – and blossoming relationship with 7lb claimer Finley Marsh – after coming from well adrift to take the six-furlong contest by a length and a quarter.

Hughes said of the 6/1 winner: “This little horse has really improved. It took him a while to win and he was beaten several times off lower marks.

“He was beaten in a 0-65 at Wolverhampton and finished second-last and we were all down in the dumps, then all of a sudden he has just turned a corner.”