Delight for John Gosden as monster Muntahaa lands dramatic Sky Bet Ebor
John Gosden's colt five-year-old flew out of the pack to land the prize in fantastic style as favourite Stratum found no luck in running
JOHN GOSDEN’S cunning plan worked a treat as Muntahaa had the last laugh in the £500,000 Sky Bet Ebor.
Racing from the widest draw in stall 21, jockey Jim Crowley kept him on the far rail as the rest of the field flocked to the inside.
The pair only slotted in at the first bend having raced alone for half a mile.
Muntahaa – sent off second favourite for the 2016 St Leger - cruised into contention in the straight and the 11-1 shot pulled clear for a three-and-a-quarter length victory.
Everything Gosden has touched this week has turned to gold so it was hardly surprising the bold tactics paid off.
Runner-up Weekender even made it a one-two for the trainer.
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Gosden explained: “I stood where the starting gate would be and said ‘that’s the plan’.
“Jim looked at me like I was going mad. I said ‘it was a Baldrick plan – we stick with it’. And, to give him his dues, he did.
“When Muntahaa gets it together he’s a very good horse.”
The win capped a superb week for Gosden. Millionaire stayer Stradivarius and Juddmonte International hero Roaring Lion both landed top prizes.
And for Crowley is was just the pick-me-up he needed after Battaash’s odds-on flop in Friday’s Nunthorpe.
Crowley said: “It was Mr Gosden’s plan to stay out wide as he’s quite a keen horse. He works very well on his own – he prefers to be on his own in space. I could have had egg on my face.
“We were drawn out wide – we needed a car park badge. But we got into a nice rhythm and we were lucky to get in on the bend. It was a very easy race to ride really.
TODAY'S RESULTS Find out all the results from the final day of York's Ebor meeting here
“I was always confident. My only concern was not to get there too soon.
“When he hit the front he was gone. He’s a classy horse.”
As brilliantly positioned as Crowley was on the winner, so Robert Winston found trouble at every turn on favourite Stratum.
The Tony Bloom-owned 3-1 shot was all the rage beforehand but was blocked as he tried to make a challenge up the inside.
No matter where he was pilot looked, he could not find a way through - and connections were left thinking what might have been.