Native’s Nunthorpe not just a fantasy

JOHN BEST’S audacious attempt to land the Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes with a two-year-old without even a win to his name paid off spectacularly as Kingsgate Native routed his elders at York yesterday.

The Maidstone trainer, who was away buying yearlings in America, had thought the juvenile allowance of nearly a stone and a half would make his charge competitive in the Group One contest.

Evidently not many of the crowd agreed, as although Kingsgate Native was only a 12-1 shot following narrow defeats in his two career starts at Glorious Goodwood and Royal Ascot, an eerie silence greeted him as he passed the post.