Gosden: Cracksman too laid-back and didn't have his mind on the job

John Gosden warned before the Prince Of Wales's racegoers should not expect to see the Cracksman who was so overwhelmingly superior to Poet's Word at Ascot last October, and he also noted he was taking more than a little interest in the fillies returning from the Duke of Cambridge Stakes.

He was not, however, expecting to see Europe's highest-rated horse rousted along by Frankie Dettori the moment the stalls opened and then niggled or pushed along almost throughout, before being swamped by his old rival approaching the furlong marker.

Dettori confirmed what we could all see when he said: "He's obviously not the same horse I was riding in the spring. He was very lethargic and never travelling at any stage.

"Usually when he turns for home the turbo kicks in, but today he was very one-paced."

Cracksman: only just managed to scrape past Salouen when winning the Coronation Cup at EpsomCredit: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)

While Dettori said he did not know what to put it down to, the trainer shed more light on the problem.

There were "no excuses" from the trainer, but two significant explanations were put forward, first of all that Cracksman has become rather too laid-back, and second that he has developed an eye for the ladies, a trait that will do him no harm at all in his future career but needs curbing until then.

Gosden said: "He's a clever horse, and before the race he was welcoming all the fillies from the Duke of Cambridge as they were walking back to the stables. I think we just need to concentrate his mind.

Watch: Cracksman's explosive effort in the Champions Stakes last year

"I don't think his mind was on the job. It was more on the fillies, which I alluded to before the race."

He continued: "He's always been laid-back, but he's gone beyond being laid-back now. We'll have to sharpen him up before the King George.

"It was not dissimilar to Epsom. I didn't feel he was particularly helping the jockey at any stage, as was slightly noticeable at Epsom going up the hill.

"The ability is there, but I didn't feel he was being exactly generous with it today. From a long way out Frankie was having to nudge and nudge and nudge to sustain it."

Next month's King George remains the target, but Cracksman has been pushed out to as big as 7-2 by William Hill, who had him at just 6-4 before the race and initially offered 4-1.

Hills make Stoute stablemates Crystal Ocean and Poet's Word 7-2 and 4-1 chances for the midsummer showpiece.

Prince of Wales's Stakes, replay, result and analysis

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