York Racecourse

racing_news/

Opinion Poll Doubles Up in Lonsdale Cup
20/08/11

1 Opinion Poll 3/1F
2 Duncan 4/1
3 Bergo 20/1
10 ran Distances: ¾l, 4l, 3¾l
TIME 3m 32.48s (slow by 2.98s)

Opinion Poll repeated last year's success with a hard-fought victory in the Weatherbys Insurance Lonsdale Cup at York to complete a double for Frankie Dettori and trainer Mahmood Al Zarooni.

Opinion Poll
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Harris Tweed set a decent gallop and still led the field turning for home, but Duncan and Opinion Poll (3-1 favourite) soon loomed large and it quickly boiled down to a battle between the pair.

It was titanic tussle throughout the final furlong and a half, with Goodwood Cup winner Opinion Poll's stamina winning the day in the end by three-quarters of a length.

Dettori, who went on to a treble, said: "The great thing is you know he will try. He was getting a bit lazy at the end, but he stuck his neck out. I get on so well with this horse."

Al Zarooni added: "He won it last year, he likes the ground and he likes this racecourse. The main target for this horse is the Group Two at Ascot on Champions Day, and there's the Doncaster Cup he could go to before that. We'll see."

Duncan's trainer John Gosden said: "He ran a blinder. He just got outstayed. Two miles is the top end of the range for him. His best trip is probably the Yorkshire Cup over one mile six. Our horse ran a good race and I'm really happy with him."

Parlour Games earlier took the step up to a mile and three-quarters in his stride with a game victory in the Betfred Melrose Stakes.

Dettori weaved his way through the field on the 9-1 shot to make his bid towards the far rail, and there was no doubting the Godolphin colt's resolution.

A winner over a mile and a half on Shergar Cup day at Ascot, he galloped on stoutly to outstay Whiplash Willie by three-quarters of a length, with Aidan O'Brien's raider Apache two and a quarter lengths further away in third.

Al Zarooni said: "He's a tough horse. He's not classy, but he's a nice horse at this distance. We'll try to find another decent race for him, but it depends what the handicapper does."

Position	Horse Trainer	Jockey Weight	Starting Price Beaten Distance
1	Opinion Poll M Al Zarooni	L Dettori 9st 4lbs	3 - 1 Winner
2	Duncan J H M Gosden	E Ahern 9st 4lbs	4 - 1 3/4 length
3	Bergo G L Moore	G Baker 9st 1lbs	20 - 1 4 lengths
4	Harris Tweed W J Haggas	Liam Jones 9st 1lbs	7 - 2 3 3/4 lengths
5	Allied Powers M L W Bell	P Hanagan 9st 1lbs	20 - 1 2 lengths
6	Elyaadi J Queally	K Fallon 8st 12lbs	22 - 1 3 lengths
7	Blue Bajan D O'Meara	D Tudhope 9st 4lbs	8 - 1 1 length
8	Highland Castle D R C Elsworth	N Mackay 8st 1lbs	12 - 1 10 lengths
9	Dandino J G Given	T P Queally 9st 4lbs	9 - 1 5 lengths
10	Chiberta King A M Balding	R Hughes 9st 1lbs	16 - 1 2 3/4 lengths