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Arc deja vu for Gosden camp as Logician disappoints at York with ground to blame

Logician (Frankie Dettori) wins the Sky Sports Racing Sky 415 Conditions StakesDoncaster 10.9.20 Pic: Edward Whitaker/Racing Pos
Logician: lost unbeaten record at YorkCredit: Edward Whitaker

Only five days on from Enable's Arc disappointment, the John Gosden and Khalid Abdullah team endured another sting in an otherwise successful season as Logician fell to a shock defeat in the Group 3 Cumberland Lodge Stakes at York, finishing last of the four runners.

The ground on the Knavesmire, described as soft, was not as testing as conditions at Longchamp on Sunday but it was a potential factor in the defeat of the 1-3 chance, ending Logician's unblemished record.

Last year's Leger hero moved strongly into contention on the turn for home and he was switched from the rail to challenge the eventual winner Euchen Glen, but was short of room with Desert Encounter travelling strongly.

Martin Harley then slotted Logician back to the rail but then the son of Frankel appeared to lose his footing and was eased down to trail the field headed by the Jim Goldie-trained runner.

Logician had won his six previous starts, including when successful on his comeback at Doncaster last month.

Gosden said: “He looked like he might've lost his footing, and it might have been the ground. We’ll get him home and see how he is.”

The Jim Goldie-trained Euchen Glen, an 18-1 shot, battled on to beat Desert Encounter by half a length to record his first win at Group level.

The success prompted Betfair Sportsbook to cut the winner to 20-1 (from 33-1) for the Balmoral Handicap, although Goldie is tempted to supplement his winner for one of the bigger races on Champions' Day instead.

"He's a real improver," said the trainer after his fourth Group win. "He's like Tiger Roll, he's got better every year and he's by the same stallion [Authorized] too! He's a good horse and we're thrilled with it, he's a tough horse.

"I'll have a chat with his owners to see if we can convince them to supplement him for the Champion Stakes or the Long Distance Cup. We'll see but it might be worth having a look at."

High-five for Alex

The Ralph Beckett-trained Prince Alex continued his rapid rise up the handicap ranks when staying on powerfully to land the £75,000 Betsafe Handicap.

The three-year-old had gone from a rating of 63 to 81, but his latest rise was not enough to stop him as he stayed on to beat Zeeband by half a length under Harry Bentley.

The Beckett and Bentley partnership completed a double on the card as Orgetorix won the mile novice auction stakes.

Elsewhere, there was a shock winner of the 20-runner 5f handicap as 40-1 shot Muscika scored for David O'Meara and Angus Villiers.

The six-year-old won at this venue in July but struggled on his next four outings and relished the drop to the minimum trip to sprint clear of Mighty Spirit and register a length-and-a-quarter victory.


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James StevensWest Country correspondent

Published on 9 October 2020inReports

Last updated 18:58, 9 October 2020

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