Gardens Blooms In Cup

Franklins Gardens put up a game performance to make all the running in the Emirates Airline Yorkshire Cup at York today.

The five-year-old, trained by Mark Tompkins and ridden by Darryll Holland, held the persistent challenge of Howard Johnson´s Percussionist to take this Group Two contest over a mile and three-quarters at odds of 13-2.

Defining made a late charge on the far side but had to settle for third.

Holland had Franklins Gardens smartly out of the stalls and was tracked by Percussionist, with Papineau a close third.

There was little change as Franklins Gardens led the field over to the stands side from the final turn and was immediately joined by Percussionist.

These two were involved in a ding-dong tussle from over two furlongs out and held the rest of the field at bay.

Franklins Gardens proved the stronger close home to win by a neck, with Defining a length and a half away in third.

'He´s a lovely horse. He ran a great race last time when Alcazar just beat him. He just needed it. He showed guts today,' Holland told Channel 4 Racing.

'He set a nice gallop and I think he´d be quicker than most of them. At one time he was going to be a Derby horse.

'He´s got a nice turn of foot for a stayer. He´s had his problems and he´s still got low mileage on the clock.'

Tompkins added: 'He really deserved that. Last year he kept having niggling problems. He would bang a joint or something silly like that, and we had to take our time with him for a bit.

'You can´t train a top-class racehorse like that, easing on and off with him all season.

'This season we´ve had a clear run and it´s made all the difference. He was a bit fresh first time at Lingfield, but today he settled really well and beat them fair and square.'

Johnson said of the runner-up: 'If it had been soft, heavy ground, he would have won easily. He wants more cut - it´s essential. And to be honest, he wanted more cover.

'I bought him for hurdling and he´s a bloody good horse, just a bit buzzy.

Nothing was in his favour and he´ll be good if we get his temperament right.

He´s got a temperament problem.'

Defining´s trainer James Fanshawe said: 'He ran very well. He still has not really come in his coat, but you have to start somewhere.

'This is his ideal trip, but I´m not sure where we´ll go with him.'

Last year´s winner Millenary faded out of contention in the closing stages and his jockey Richard Quinn said: 'I think he´s all right. He just hung very badly today.'

Godolphin racing manager Simon Crisford was happy with the performance of Papineau, having his first run since winning last year´s Gold Cup at Royal Ascot.

He said: 'It was a great run. We´re very pleased. The ground was testing for him and he just got a bit tired. We´re aware he´s been off for 11 months and he has had ankle surgery.

'We felt he might run a bit better than that, but it doesn´t matter and he´ll improve.'

? PA Sport