John Gosden won the Betway Winter Derby at Lingfield for the third successive year thanks to a victory for Forest Of Dean on Saturday.
Rab Havlin steered the five-year-old to Group Three glory on the back of Wissahickon and Dubai Warrior, who Frankie Dettori had ridden to success for the Clarehaven handler in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
Gosden gelded the son of Iffraaj at the start of the 2019 winter and brought him back from 478 days off the track when he was third to Felix at Wolverhampton on January 11.
He stepped forward from that at Lingfield in the trial here on February 6, but was beaten by Felix once again, but he managed to reverse both pieces of form with Marco Botti's horse when it really mattered.
In control of matters early in the straight, Forest Of Dean was reeled in a little deep into the contest but the line came well in time as he registered a three-quarter length victory over his old foe.
Gosden said: “He’s definitely on an upward curve and Rab rode him beautifully. When he got to the top of the hill he said ‘I’m gonna steal this’ and kept him rolling.
“He’s a brave little horse who was off for over 400 days after having problems following his run at Newbury. I think the Easter Classic over a mile and a quarter (on All-Weather Championships Finals Day) might be more his scene than the Lincoln.”
The trainer had news of Mishriff, who has astounded him since arriving back from Saudi.
He added: “Mishriff is in top order. He came back on Monday and had a lead out on Wednesday, but he was so fresh on Wednesday, squealing and playing, that I had to give him two canters on Warren Hill this morning.
“I’ve spoken to Prince Faisal and we’ve agreed to leave it at least 10 days before making a plan for him.”
