Master Moore turns layers' world upside down with treble

The Betfred Mile may be sponsored by a bookmaker but it is becoming a race the layers are starting to dread.

Last year the victory of gambled-on 7-4 favourite Franklin D – who was one of five winning favourites on the card – heavily contributed to the betting industry racking up losses running into the millions, and the layers were on red alert again after Ryan Moore weaved a passage on Pricewise selection Master The World to bring up a near-52-1 treble from the opening three races.

The bookmakers were able to breathe a slight sigh of relief when Moore's mount Washington DC was beaten in the King George Stakes, but plenty of damage had already been done with 6-1 Master The World following on from Poet's Word and Beat The Bank, who both struck at 7-4. Matt Hulmes of Betfred said: "Franklin D is still a swear word in our office after last year and this horse is going to be the same."

As if sponsoring a £150,000 contest that left the betting industry facing huge losses wasn't bad enough, further salt was rubbed into the wounds by the fact Master The World had been the horse who could have saved them a huge payout last year but had narrowly failed to reel in Franklin D.

Still, Master The World's delighted trainer David Elsworth was not concerning himself with bookmaker losses – he was enjoying success with a horse he has always held in high regard and who deserved a stroke of luck after a number of good efforts in defeat.

"He was in wonderful form and we hoped he'd win, but you need a bit of luck in a race like that and it went our way for a change," said Elsworth. "He's got tons of ability, he really has. He's Group 3 or Group 2 class."

That Master The World prevailed by three-quarters of a length from Tony Curtis, with Richard Fahey's Birchwood and Withernsea completing the places, was down to a brave and talented horse, a healthy slice of luck and an ice-cool ride, with Moore scraping the paint from a favourable inside draw before delivering a decisive challenge when spying a gap up the fence.

Elsworth added: "I feel sorry for Pat Dobbs who rode him last year and would have ridden him, but he's suspended so we had to make do with Ryan!"

Moore said: “It was a very messy race and surprisingly slow early. I had a good position and then it got very rough going into the first bend and they started racing a long way out. My horse went through a bit of flat spot and it wasn’t until he got to the furlong marker and started to pass horses that he wanted to go, and lucky enough there was a gap there and he picked up well.

"It’s all down to the trainer really; he’s eyed the race and obviously you need the luck and it has worked out well.”

Whether achieved by luck, judgement or a combination of the two, this was a result the layers will want to forget.

Betfred Mile result

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