Wannabe gamble sparks Mills double

Wannabe Around paid an immediate compliment to Derby hope Asian Heights when running away with the big handicap at Goodwood today.

Thirty-five minutes after Asian Heights burst into the Derby reckoning with his win in the Compass UK Leisure Predominate Stakes, Wannabe Around, who had finished second to Geoff Wragg`s colt at Lingfield last autumn, landed a gamble in the Tote Trifecta Stakes.

Terry Mills`s three-year-old was cut from 11-1 to 6-1 in the wake of a welter of off-course support, and his backers had hardly an anxious moment.

Wannabe Around was soon in front under Richard Quinn, and quickened away from his pursuers inside the final quarter mile, scoring by a comfortable three lengths from the top weight, Bourgainville.

'Look at his form,' enthused Mills, who was to complete a 90-1 double with Fly With Me in the finale.

'The horse that`s won the Predominate, Asian Heights, has got to be a leading fancy for the Derby and he`s just nicked the race off us at Lingfield in soft ground last year. This is a good sort of a horse.'

Mills trains less than a mile from the Derby start at Epsom, and he jovially suggested he ought to shell out Stg£75,000 to supplement Wannabe Around for the Classic.

'I`d love to have another horse good enough to run in it. We had All The Way a couple of years ago and he ran very well. And this horse would run his heart out,' he added without actually committing himself to the cause.

'You`ve got to dream, haven`t you?'

Fly With Me nearly threw away the goodwood.co.uk Handicap when hanging violently to his left in the last furlong, but his waywardness was corrected by Richard Quinn and the 12-1 chance saw off Irish Distinction by a length.

'A great day,' said Mills. 'It just would have been nice to do this on Thursday as we sponsor the first race, but I`ll take today.'

Invincible Spirit heads for Royal Ascot`s Cork and Orrery Stakes after capturing theM-real Conditions Stakes for the in-form combination of John Dunlop and Pat Eddery from an unlucky looking Kier Park.

Invincible Spirit was produced on the outside by Eddery to hit the front around the furlong marker, avoiding the congestion that confronted Kier Park, who was about to be asked for his effort when he sandwiched between the fading Iftitah and Tamarisk.

Having been switched by Philip Robinson, Kier Park ran on strongly to reduce the deficit on the admittedly eased-down Invincible Spirit to half a length.

'Judging by the way the horse finished he looked unlucky. If he had got the split up the rail he would have won it easy,' suggested bloodstock agent Charlie Gordon-Watson, who was representing Kier Park`s owner, Sultan Ahmad Shah.

Kier Park is likely to run next at Royal Ascot, where he has a choice of the King`s Stand Stakes and the Cork and Orrery.

The latter contest is definitely the next stop for Invincible Spirit and Dunlop said: 'He was a very good horse as a two-year-old and then last spring he suffered a nasty pelvic injury. But he`s over that now and he`s a very nice horse.

'He ran well in the two outings we were able to give him last backend, but though we did try him over seven furlongs then he is definitely better at six.'

Firebreak could be another bound for the Royal Meeting after making a winning debut - and completing a 17-1 double for Asian Heights` partner Kieren Fallon - in the Anne Frances Stevens Memorial Maiden Stakes.

'The jockey thinks he could just be the sort for the Coventry,' said Andrew Balding, who supervises the handling of the youngster at his father Ian`s Kingsclere yard.

Firebreak was produced with a steady run to cut down the more experienced High Finale well inside the final furlong and win a shade cosily by a head.

'I think he must be quite good to have won first time out because as everyone knows we dont wind our two-year-olds up at home,' observed Balding.

Brilliant Red popped up at 20-1 in the Newton Investment Management Stakes, rallying under apprentice Ian Mongan to thwart the tail-swishing favourite Calcutta by half a length.

Brilliant Red was wearing a visor for the first time and trainer Lydia Richards explained: 'He`s an eight-year-old now and although we felt he wasn`t going doggy, he probably wasn`t giving it 110 per cent. He worked very sweetly in a visor on Saturday and he was very sensible.'