Son of Frankel lunges late under Dettori to foil 1.01 backers

Frankel colt Westerland finished with a flourish to secure an unlikely victory in the opening 6f maiden at Leicester on Tuesday, much to the exasperation of those who backed the runner-up Hey Gaman at 1.01 in-running on Betfair.

Many thousands were matched at odds of 1-10 or below and £518 was traded on Hey Gaman at the minimum price after the James Tate-trained debutant cruised into the lead travelling powerfully.

Those who took 8-15 about Westerland on the back of his promising debut second at Newbury 11 days ago would have been fearing the worst throughout the final furlong as Hey Gaman looked in complete control.

But Dettori, already in the headlines after a starring turn on Loose Women, conjured a strong late charge from his mount, whose head was down at the right time to secure the verdict in the photo-finish.

The dramatic reverse follows hot on the heels of two incidents of in-running carnage last week. Last Monday at Carlisle £85,952 was traded on runner-up Seyaady at 1.01 in one of the most expensive reverses in Betfair history, while the following day Captain Sharpe flew home to win at Hexham having been matched at the maximum 999-1 during the race.

Royal agenda

The regally bred Westerland, who is from a very smart sprinting family including the likes of Showcasing, remains a 25-1 shot for the Coventry Stakes, and trainer John Gosden said Ascot could still be on the agenda.

"Frankie said the ground was a bit loose for him and he would be better on a quicker surface. He may run at Royal Ascot but we'll have a think about it," Gosden said.

1.50 Leicester result