“Oh ye of little faith”, could have been the cry directed towards the Betfair in-running punters as Shane Kelly produced a stunning ride to guide Geordieland to victory in the final strides of the Yorkshire Cup today.

For all his quirks, the pre-race punters certainly gave Jamie Osborne’s 7yo a fighting chance in this Group 2 contest, as he was backed from 11-1 into 13-2 on Betfair. And if the horse consented to knuckle down, and bare his teeth, he certainly had sound form claims.

Clearly, the in-running brigade thought that level of tenacity and willingness may have been lacking when Royal And Regal kicked clear entering the final furlong, as Geordieland was laid at 25-1 and the leader backed at 1-20.

However, they were made to regret their lack of faith as Kelly produced a master class of a ride to get his mount up in the final two strides for a head success.

Betfair spokesman Tony Calvin commented: “It seems that the Betfair in-running punters had a pre-conceived idea of how that race was going to pan out – but they certainly didn’t strike gold.”