Muntahaa confirms A-plus for Gosden

STUHNEDPAYEOPPEOLPEL✱E David Yates

MUNTAHAA crowned a triumphant four days at York for John Gosden when leading home stablemate Weekender in the Sky Bet Ebor Handicap.

Gosden opened the Ebor Festival by saddling Roaring Lion to victory in the Group 1 Juddmonte Lockinge Stakes – and secured the Weatherbys Hamilton Stayers’ Million bonus when Stradivarius captured Friday’s Lonsdale Stakes.

For good measure, the Newmarket trainer gained a first success in Europe’s richest handicap as Muntahaa and Jim Crowley beat Frankie Dettori on Weekender to score by three-and-a-quarter lengths.

“They are two fabulous horses,” said the master of Clarehaven stables (right), who now holds a lead of £1.5million over Aidan O’brien in the race for the 2018 trainers’ title.

“We trained them specifically for this race and I told the jocks beforehand I had never had them better. We’ve had a great week. “We didn’t bring many here – you don’t come here half-hearted. “Stradivarius was a bit quiet this morning. “He had a pick of grass and said to me, ‘Can I have a rest for a bit?’. “But Roaring Lion cantered this morning and was absolutely full of himself.” Throughout the first four furlongs of the one-mile, six-furlong contest, Crowley steered a path on the wide outside on Muntahaa. “We could have had egg on our face, but the plan was to stay out wide,” revealed the jockey. “He prefers to be on his own in space.”

The 11/1 success was a relief to bookmakers, who feared victory for 3/1 favourite Stratum, running in the colours o f To n y B l o o m , t h e Brighton & Hove Albion chairman.

“He landed a Goodwood gamble on Flaming Spear, and if Stratum had gone in it would have cost us a £1million,” claimed a Ladbrokes spokesperson.