Frankie Dettori treated the Haydock crowd to his trademark flying dismount after steering Kinross to an impressive victory in the Betway John Of Gaunt Stakes.
Ralph Beckett’s four-year-old was considered a potential top-notcher in his younger days – competing at the highest level in the Vertem Futurity Trophy, the 2000 Guineas and the Prix Jean Prat.
Having disappointed on a couple of occasions at the Dubai Carnival at Meydan earlier in the year, Dettori admitted he was more hopeful than confident about his chances in the Group Three feature on Merseyside.
However, the 5-1 co-favourite of three bounced back to his best – powering clear of his rivals and passing the post with a length and a quarter in hand over Irish raider Njord.
Dettori said: “He had some good form as a two-year-old. Marc (Chan, owner) bought him with the thought of having a good Carnival in Dubai, but things didn’t go his way – he wasn’t ready for it.
“Ralph decided to geld him and we didn’t know what to expect today, to be honest. His first two runs this year were really bad, so I rode him to run well.
“He got the splits when I wanted them and in fairness he picked up and put the race to bed straight away.
“Prior to the race we were a little bit puzzled, but he showed he’s still got ability and we can make a plan.”
The popular Italian returned to the winner’s enclosure to warm applause from racegoers.
He added: “It was quite weird when I was cantering down to the start for the second race – people on the rail were shouting my name.
“It’s something that I wasn’t accustomed to for the last 18 months. It’s good to have an atmosphere back.”
