Johnston scores with Laa Rayb in totesport Mile

Mark Johnston’s form at the 2009 Glorious Goodwood Festival continued on Friday, as the trainer landed the totesport Mile with 25-1 longshot Laa Rayb.

The gelding overcame a period of indifferent form to win the totesport Mile, excelling despite a poor draw to finish the day four feature race 2 lengths ahead of 9/1 priced Spectait. Another long shot, 22-1 priced Docofthebay, finished the race in third place.

“The winner is of Group Two caliber,” Johnston was quoted as saying by the Press Association. “We gave him a nice break coming here, and that seems to have made the difference - along with the blinkers. He’s perhaps not looked in love with the game in the past, but producing him right on the day is the key.”

“You can’t give up on horses with that much class. He’s obviously got his quirks and a lot of miles on the clock. He’s probably benefited from a bit of a gap between his races as well.”

The 2009 totesport Mile left bookmakers laughing all the way to the bank, with antepost favourites Cloudy Start, Acrostic and Extraterrestrial finishing the race well out of range of a place.