Owner Jenny Powell was celebrating a golden windfall today after Goggles, the horse that failed to find a buyer on three previous occasions, obliged at Doncaster today.
Powell`s investment in the colt reaped a handsome reward of more than £150,000 as Goggles landed the £200,000 St Leger Yearling Stakes.
She acquired the colt, her first Flat horse, for 19,000 guineas when he went through the sales ring for a fourth time.
Powell likes to give all her horses a name beginning with the letter G` and calls them the `G-string`.
'This one is a son of Eagle Eyed so Goggles appealed immediately as the obvious name,' she said.
'We`ve had this race in mind for him since we bought him and it`s great that everything has gone to plan.'
It was bloodstock agent David Minton who bought Goggles for the owner at the Breeze-Up sale.
Minton had been one of the underbidders for the colt on two of the previous occasions he had gone through the ring.
'The first time he was sold he was going to go to Turkey but it emerged that he was ineligible,' said Minton.
'Then the colt went through the sales ring twice more and didn`t find an owner. I knew he was coming up at the Breeze-Up sales and bought him specially for this race.'
Goggles, a 14-1 chance, had established an advantage going into the final furlong under Chris Rutter and hung on by half a length from Reel Buddy.
The 7-4 favourite Mujado was an abject disappointment, trailing in 11th.
'It`s remarkable that a horse of his age should have gone through the sales ring four times,' said trainer Henry Candy.
'He`s a nice type of horse with a bit of class about him. He`s not a typical two-year-old and has a reasonable future.
'I`d like to put him to bed for the winter now. He might not be top-class but I`m sure he`ll be good enough to go for Group races.'
Compton Banker made up for several near misses when landing a substantial gamble in the Tote Trifecta Portland.
The prospects for the 7-2 favourite, available at 8-1 with the sponsors this morning, did not appear good at the halfway stage of the £30,000 contest.
But he found a devastating change of gear for Frankie Dettori, riding his first winner in this race, to charge past the opposition.
Striking the front in the final 100 yards Compton Banker was one-length to the good over Delegate at the line.
'He`s run consistently for a long time and this is his reward,' said trainer Gerard Butler.
'Timing is everything with this horse. If you go too soon he`s likely to be caught in the closing stages. Once he gets going he goes into overdrive.'
Compton Banker may tackle the Ayr Gold Cup on Saturday week but Butler warned that he needs decent ground.
Compton Banker is set to carry 8st 7lb (including a 7lb penalty) in the Scottish race. The sponsors Ladbrokes quote him at 7-1 joint-favourite with Tayseer.
