Kinane rides his luck

Kinane rides his luck.

Sophisticat was yet another Group One winner for Aidan O'Brien and Mick Kinane in the Coronation Stakes here yesterday, but if the result felt predictable, the execution was extraordinary.

Second-last as they turned for home, Sophisticat was stopped in her run at the furlong pole, and then switched around six of her opponents before getting up to pass Zenda close home.

Kinane has found himself in some tricky positions during his 27 years in the saddle, but few as difficult, or high-profile, as the one he faced 300 yards from home yesterday.

That he managed to win on Sophisticat despite stopping almost to a canter after going for a gap on the inside which slammed shut in his face, proved that Kinane has three vital qualities in abundance: fine judgment, coolness under fire, and more than his fair share of luck.

"I am an optimist," Michael Tabor, Sophisticat's owner, said, "so I was always hoping she would get out in time. She is a very tough but even so it was an amazing performance."

Tabor, possibly the biggest hitter in the British betting rings at present, said that the 6-1 available about Sophisticat - she started at 11-2 - had ensured that he was "winning on the meeting," despite the costly odds-on defeats of two of O'Brien's juveniles earlier in the week.

The great disappointment of the race was Gossamer, the Irish 1,000 Guineas winner, who started favourite at 6-4 but finished last of the 11 runners. Neither Luca Cumani, her trainer, nor her jockey Jamie Spencer could offer an explanation for her performance, although the good to firm ground may have played a part.

The St Leger, the final Classic of the season, will be the ultimate target for Balakheri, who won the King Edward VII Stakes for Sir Michael Stoute. "He didn't get the run of the race [when third] in the Dante at York," Stoute said. "He's tough and progressive and has really come on since then."

Balakheri's success, along with that of Revenue in the Windsor Castle Stakes, improved the mood of winning jockey Johnny Murtagh, who will miss the Irish Derby after being banned for four days for misuse of the whip when winning the Gold Cup on Thursday.

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