Gosden Sets Sights High With Leger Hero

Lucarno will be trained for races like the Coronation Cup and King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes next season after his stylish success in the Ladbrokes St Leger.

Eleven years on from capturing the world's oldest Classic with Shantou, John Gosden repeated the trick as Lucarno swept to success at Doncaster.

Gosden had been without a runner in the race since that day in 1996, but he recorded what amounted to back-to-back wins as Lucarno pegged back the front-running Mahler to score by a length.

Jimmy Fortune, winning his first Classic, set the 7-2 shot alight two furlongs out and despite doubts over his stamina, Lucarno ? named after an Italian village ? stayed on strongly right to the wire.

Mahler was far form disgraced while his Aidan O'Brien-trained stablemate Honolulu, the 13-8 favourite, was another three-quarters of a length adrift in third.

Gosden said: 'He has done nothing but improve and he is coming to his best in the autumn. We will put him away now and come back next year for the mile-and-a-half Group Ones.

'We are not rushing off to the Arc like lunatics and we will have a proper four-year-old next year for the Coronation Cup and King George.'

Lucarno had only been committed to the field on Monday after Gosden was persuaded by owner George Strawbridge that the colt possessed the required stamina.

Gosden added: 'He got the trip but I am not sure he will run over it again.

'Mick (Kinane) set a very strong pace on a horse who knows the time of day and we nailed him.

'I always felt he had the class to handle the trip but I don't think it is ideal for him.

'There is a picture in the racecard of a horse called Nijinsky who won here but it wasn't his trip. I am not saying he is Nijinsky but I am saying it isn't his trip.'

Strawbridge, 69, made the trip from his base in Pennsylvania to witness his home-bred score.

The former jump jockey, a member of the US Jockey Club, said: 'I am used to steeplechases where they go three miles so this is like a sprint to me.

'I'm so proud of this horse, who actually comes from a fast family.

'The mare (Vignette) won over six furlongs and here he is winning the St Leger, which is why we had worries over his stamina.

'People say winning the St Leger kills a horse as a stallion but I breed them to race.'

Connections of Mahler thought he may have been a little unlucky.

Part-owner Derrick Smith said: 'Mick thought he stumbled two out. He didn't know what happened ? he was just about to wind him up and it would have been interesting.'

He added of Honolulu: 'Honolulu ran a good race. Maybe if they had gone a bit quicker it might have suited him better as Lucarno had a bit more speed than he did.'

His rider Johnny Murtagh added: 'They went far too slow for the first six furlongs of the race.

'Even though he was staying on at the end, he was never going to get there. When the winner quickened up and found a length I was never going to get to him.'

The one slight downside for Gosden was that his other runner, Raincoat, finished last.

He said: 'It was disappointing that Richard (Hughes) could not get cover. Raincoat was always racing three wide with the choke out and he is much better than that.'

(C) PA Sport