Sir Mark Prescott and Pasternak's very public Cambridgeshire gamble

From 10 to 1, our countdown of the greatest gambles of all time. A new instalment will be published every weekday for the next fortnight. Today – No.6: Pasternak and the 1997 Cambridgeshire

The background

Sir Mark Prescott had long gained a reputation as a particularly shrewd placer of horses and his career was at its peak in the late 1990s, a period that saw his great sprinter Pivotal land a King’s Stand/Nunthorpe double and the mare Alborada win successive runnings of the Champion Stakes.

Landing one of the big Flat handicaps is difficult enough but trying to win two in a season – and from only two runs – would test even Prescott's skills to the limit. Yet that was the plan for Pasternak in 1997, with the John Smith's Magnet Cup at York his only aim before the Cambridgeshire in the autumn.

At the centre of the operation was Graham Rock, founding editor of the Racing Post, who headed the five-member syndicate that owned the four-year-old. The plan was hatched at the end of the previous season after the late-maturing and somewhat fragile Pasternak had opened his account in a Bath maiden, followed quickly by a York handicap success over the Magnet Cup course and distance.

The build-up

"From the start of the year the plan was to win both the Magnet Cup and the Cambridgeshire," recalled George Duffield, Prescott's long-serving jockey. To that end, and with what Rock described as Pasternak's "sensitive" forelegs in mind, he did not reappear until July 12, duly landing the big York handicap by two and a half lengths off a mark of 85.

With plenty of juice still in his handicap mark, and despite a 6lb rise for the Cambridgeshire, Pasternak was well backed in the three-month run-up to the Newmarket race.

The biggest fly in the ointment was stablemate Rudimental's performance against Pasternak in a crucial pre-Cambridgeshire gallop.

"Pasternak won the gallop with, I thought, about 8-10lb in hand," Prescott said later. "The trouble was Rudimental was only a length back and they were working at their Cambridgeshire weights. When I reported this back to Graham Rock and the boys they said: 'Well, don't run Rudimental!' But Rudimental had to run as [his owners] Mr and Mrs Thompson [of Cheveley Park Stud] paid the same bills."

The race

The gamble was fuelled on the morning of the race by a famous Racing Post front-page headline that proclaimed: 'Why you must back Pasternak'.

"Twenty-four hours before the big race he was on offer at 12-1, but at the off had been backed down to 4-1, one of the greatest gambles of recent times," Rock recalled.

Prescott's confidence was reflected in his pre-race remarks to Rudimental's rider John Lowe. "I was hopeful until I arrived in the paddock when Sir Mark said I would win if there wasn't such a very good horse in the race – meaning Pasternak!" said Lowe.

Sir Mark Prescott: trainer of Omniscient

Sir Mark Prescott: "The two horses reproduced their home gallop to a pound"Credit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

As it turned out, Rudimental, a 20-1 shot, was the main threat to the gamble's success. Pasternak took charge of the 36-runner contest inside the final furlong, only to be chased hard by Rudimental against the stands' rail.

Prescott recalled: "It now became apparent I was going to train the first and second in the Cambridgeshire, but I didn't know in which order. There then came a tap on the shoulder from Graham, who said: 'I hope you're not going to cock this up old man!'"

At the line Pasternak was still in front by three-quarters of a length and was reported to have cost the betting industry £5 million. But, as Rock admitted afterwards, it was a little too close for comfort.

"The fascinating thing," said Prescott, "is the two horses reproduced their home gallop to a pound."

The aftermath

Prescott's feat was hailed by Duffield, who said: "People forget what a great training performance it was by Sir Mark to have him spot on for the two races, which were nearly three months apart. Most trainers nowadays would have given him a prep run in between."

The same double was attempted again the following year, albeit with a slightly busier schedule, and Pasternak finished a close second in the John Smith's Cup but only tenth in the Cambridgeshire. He ran in the John Smith's Cup for a third time in 1999 but was a well-beaten 12th and retired to stud after just one more outing. He never won again in nine efforts after the huge Cambridgeshire gamble.

Prescott, though, did win the Cambridgeshire again, perhaps even more remarkably with seasonal debutant Chivalry in 2003. He remains a man to be feared in the big handicaps to this day.

Rock tragically died in 2001 at the age of just 56.