Noble Mission wins the Gordon Noble Mission edged out Encke in a thrilling renewal of the bet365 Gordon Stakes on day one of Glorious Goodwood. Frankel's full-brother won a protracted battle with the runner-up after the two had the race between themselves in the final furlong. And it was Tom Queally's mount who got his head in front at the line by a nose, the pair pulling clear of 6-4 favourite Michelangelo in third. Sky Bet go 12-1 (from 20s) about the winner for the St Leger with Encke two points bigger at 14s. Noble Mission made a most encouraging debut when second on his only juvenile appearance at Yarmouth and while he clearly lacked the early verve of his sibling, he won his first two starts as a three-year-old. A potential Derby bid was shelved after he suffered a narrow defeat at Newmarket in May, but he did run perfectly well in defeat when narrowly held by fellow Cecil runner Thomas Chippendale in Royal Ascot's King Edward VII Stakes. Michelangelo was the hot favourite for this Group Three test following impressive wins here and at Newmarket, but he simply could not pick up when it mattered. Connections of Encke will undoubtedly be thrilled by such a fine effort on what was just his fourth career outing. Queally said: "You never really know (in a photo), but my head was down at the right stage. He dug deep when it mattered. "He's a nice horse, he's improving and he's going places. "He takes you there too easily, I'd planned to take my time a little bit but when you get him alight there's no taking him back. Thankfully he rose to it."
