FRANCE came from near last to win, Prized Icon’s waywardness probably cost him victory, Spright might have been unlucky, Calanda struck trouble — and Mr Sneaky didn’t even take part in the race, taking off behind the barriers, jumping the outside rail and bolting off into a nearby paddock.

All this from an action-packed $400,000 Inglis 3yo Guineas (1400m) where the Team Snowden-trained France produced a stunning late burst to win the feature race at Scone on Saturday.

This was a race of sensations but France seemed oblivious to everything.

“I was worried he was too casual going to the barriers,’’ France’s jockey Tye Angland said. “From the time I got on him, I was trying to wake him up and get his mind on the job.

“I didn’t want to get that far back early but from that barrier I had no option and the colt just went to ‘sleep’ out the back. We were following the good chances and to this colt’s credit, when I got him to the outside he showed a really good turn of foot.’’

media_camera France charges down the outside to win the Inglis Guineas. Picture: Jenny Evans

France ($16) unleashed a powerful surge to collar Prized Icon ($2.80 favourite) near the line to score by a short head with Spright ($5) three-quarters of a length away third.

Prized Icon appeared set to score when he ranged up to Spright but then the favourite raced erratically with Calanda, a stablemate of the winner, being chopped out for a run inside the final 100m.

Trainer Paul Snowden said France will be set for a Brisbane winter carnival campaign but he was unsure of immediate plans for Calanda.

“We told the owners that France will run a lot better than most people think,’’ Snowden said. “He’s has always shown ability at home and today he showed that on raceday.

“Calanda never relaxed and we will have to think what we do with him. Maybe he is not a 1400m horse and needs 1200m where the speed is on.’’

media_camera Mr Sneaky checks out an adjacent paddock after dumping its rider and bolting before the Inglis Guineas. The horse was uninjured in the adventure. Picture: Jenny Evans

James Cummings, trainer of Prized Icon, said his colt proved he is on target for the Queensland Derby with his good second.

Spright showed a return to form after her game third with Garry Frazer wondering what might have been if his filly had not been left in front too soon.

Meanwhile, Mr Sneaky ended up in an adjacent paddock nearly 1km away.

Scone’s chief steward Shane Cullen said Mr Sneaky was getting the barrier blanket applied prior to the race when he pulled away and got loose from the attendants.

“He then went through the plastic rail and took off into the next paddock,’’ Cullent said. “We got him caught pretty quickly and the vet checked him over straight away and thankfully the horse was uninjured.”

TAB BETTING REVIEW

SCONE

RACE ONE

Interlocuter was a costly conveyance for punters in the opener at Scone. The Darren Beadman-prepared runner was responsible for 70 per cent of the total investment. Backed from $2.60 into $1.90 after opening $4 on Wednesday, Interlocuter hit the front at the top of the straight but couldn’t hold off Lautaro ($51-$21) who was specked throughout the day at odds. Wu Gok ($18) wound up third. Best supported to beat the favourite was Great Glen ($5.50), however, he held less than 10 per cent of the money that Interlocuter did.

BETS: Interlocuter $2,000 @ $2.05, $2,000 @ $2, $6,000 @ $1.95

RACE TWO

Ozark landed a sweet move after being double figures in the morning. Going up at $11 chance in the morning, punters were constantly coming for the Godolphin-trained runner who was eventually backed into $4.60 favouritism. The gelding only held slightly less money than the very popular Firsthand ($6-$5), with the pair easily the best supported runners in the race with just over half of the market in their corner. Hot Hit, which led, was $16-$26 but very nearly stole the race before Ozark nailed it on the line while Isorich ($31-$61) knocked Firsthand out of the placings.

BETS: Ozark $1,900 @ $5, Firsthand $2,000 @ $5.50

RACE THREE

Debonairly was the best backed to beat the favourite Almanzora. Benefiting from a nice run behind the leader, jockey Tommy Berry had plenty of room to issue his challenge in the straight with the filly winning easily over Lipizzan ($16-$23-$21) and I Am Excited ($17-$26). Debonairly, $4.40 in the morning to $3.50 at the jump, held 14 per cent of the money but that was nothing compared to Almanzora ($2.80-$2.50) who commanded 56 per cent of the market.

BETS: Almanzora $11,000 @ $2.50, Debonairly $2,000 @ $3.40

RACE FOUR

Miss Debutante was an impressive winner of the Coolmore Denise’s Joy Stakes. Flashing home with Tommy Berry aboard, the daughter of Fastnet Rock was $8 out to $11 and didn’t attract any real support. Snitty Kitty, which was huge in defeat, was $7 into $5.50 and attracted several big bets late as did Smart Amelia ($9). Eckstein ($8) wound up fourth after racing near the tail of the field and was the most popular runner in terms of money taken. Gibraltar Girl ($8.50-$6.50) had good money come for it too.

BETS: Smart Amelia $3,000 @ $9, Snitty Kitty $1,600 @ $6.50

RACE FIVE

Betting was thrown into disarray behind the barriers with one of the best backed runners, Mr Sneaky, being a late scratching. France ($17) came from well back and was the widest runner in the straight to finish best and beat the heavily tried Prized Icon ($2.90 fav). The pair were closer to the grandstand than the inside rail. France attracted little money but Prized Icon on the other hand was responsible for 40 per cent of the money. Spright ($5) had its share of admirers and ran third. Calanda, the $3.40 second favourite, attracted some serious cash but after racing wide throughout couldn’t come on in the straight.

BETS: Prized Icon $2,000 @ $2.90, Spright $4,000 @ $5, France $1,000 @ $21

RACE SIX

Clearly Innocent’s win in the Luskin Star represented a huge blow to TAB. Backed from $4.20 into $3.50, Clearly Innocent was almost three times as popular as the runner-up Snoopy ($4.20-$6.50) and with Multis included, represented a huge six-figure loss for TAB. Incredibly the gelding opened an $8 chance when the markets were first released. The Kris Lees-trained runner benefited from a blistering speed set up front by Sweet Serendipity. Gold Symphony ($8-$11) was third just in front of Sir Bacchus ($5.50) who made good ground from the back of the pack. Money on Clearly Innocent accounted for 45 per cent of the market.

BETS: Clearly Innocent $2,280 @ $3.60, $2,000 @ $3.60, $1,000 @ $3.60 MULTIPLE TIMES

RACE SEVEN

Daysee Doom ($4.80) landed some good bets in winning the Emirates Park Dark Jewel Classic. One of the more popular runners in terms of money held, Daysee Doom was solid in the market throughout the day and enjoyed a good run behind the leader to score in a tight finish. Prompt Response ($6-$5) saw good money and flashed home to just miss out on the prize while Serene Majesty ($34) was third. Punters put their faith in Artistry who held more than three times the amount of money than any other runner. The Peter and Paul Snowden-trained runner opened at $4 on the day but got out to $5.50 at the jump.

BETS: Daysee Doom $1,000 @ $5.50, $1,000 @ $4.60, Artistry $3,000 @ $4.20, $4,000 @ $5.50

RACE EIGHT

Quatronic ($17-$9-$11) ran right up to the support to lead throughout to win the Ortensia Stakes. Constantly nibbled ever since the market opened on Wednesday, Quatronic led but was wide although that didn’t worry the son of Nicconi who had the measure of his rivals a long way out. Deploy ($5.50) and Dothraki ($8-$7) tried hard after having runs just off the speed but couldn’t peg back the margin to the winner. The big disappointment from a punting point of view was the heavily tried Nieta, who touched odds-on before getting back out to $2.50. Settling well back, Nieta made good ground over the concluding stages but never looked a winning possibility. Nieta carried over 50 per cent of the total investment in the final event.

BETS: Quatronic $5,000 @ $12