3 minute read

Gosden favourite made to work for victory

Wissahickon landed short odds in the Betway Quebec Stakes at Lingfield – but it was harder work than might have been expected.

Sent off the 2-5 favourite, John Gosden’s Cambridgeshire winner briefly looked in a spot of bother in behind horses turning for home.

However, the leader Big Country went wide off the bend – carrying Villette and Scarlet Dragon with him.

That allowed Rab Havlin to drive the favourite into the lead. But he still initially failed to put the race to bed, and Big Country started to come back for another crack.

Eventually Wissahickon knuckled down and put a couple of lengths between himself and his pursuers – and he hit the line strongly, winning by two and a quarter lengths from Big Country.

Havlin told At The Races: “It’s important with him to get him in a nice rhythm, but I wasn’t happy with the pace. Reading between the lines before, that was always going to happen.

“When you sprint into that turn, everything fans out and you can nearly almost get a run and nick a couple of lengths back.

“He showed his class today and knuckled down well. There was a lot to look at in the last furlong, so I was just keeping his mind on the job – there was plenty left.

“That was what we were expecting today. I think the Winter Derby and the Easter Classic will be the plan.”