NEW season, same result as champion trainer John Gosden bagged the first big Flat race of the year with the exciting Haqeeqy.
The four-year-old flew home from off the pace to win the Lincoln Handicap at Doncaster under 18-year-old jock Benoit de la Sayette – who was having his first ever ride on turf.
The victory was a poignant one, with the horse owned by the daughter of powerhouse owner Hamdan al Maktoum, who died last week.
And it was a memorable success for Gosden, who’s son Thady now appears on the licence as co-trainer alongside his dad.
But entering the final two furlongs, it looked like the champagne would be staying on ice as the 9-2 shot was in a pocket and short of room.
He found daylight when he needed it and under de la Sayette, who has made waves on the all-weather this winner, he picked up in style to win going away.
The teenager said: “I’m 18. It’s a dream start, to win the Lincoln, my first ride on turf, it’s a fairytale. I’ll probably wake up tomorrow thinking it was a dream.
“Luckily enough a gap opened at the end which I wasn’t expecting, as I thought I was going to be trapped, but the turn of foot he showed was thrilling.
“To have a feeling like that, you can’t get better and I couldn’t ask for a better boss.”
It kicked off a stunning afternoon for team Gosden, who enjoyed a lucrative 64-1 treble, as Mishriff earned another huge payday in the Sheema Classic in Dubai.
The four-year-old banked £7 million in last month’s Saudi Cup and followed up in the £3.6 million Group 1 at Meydan.
Winning jock David Egan said: “He is the horse who will make my career hopefully. He won the Saudi Cup and this is the icing on the cake.
“The draw wasn’t ideal today but he has done it well. Hopefully we will have a nice campaign in Europe this summer.”
Mishriff (left) edged out Chrono Genesis to win the Sheema Classic
That success came less than an hour after Frankie Dettori steered last year’s Prince of Wales’s Stakes hero Lord North to an easy win in the Dubai Turf.
Dettori grinned: “He’s a horse to go to war with in all the big races this year. Let’s try the Prince of Wales’s again, but I’m sure Mr Gosden will have a plan, and we’ll have lots of fun.”
The feature race, the Dubai World Cup, was won by the US-trained favourite Mystic Guide.
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