England won Betfair’s Race to the World Cup Stakes at Haydock Park (Picture: Betfair)

England have been handed a timely boost ahead of the World Cup after beating the likes of Brazil and Argentina in Betfair’s Race to the World Cup Stakes.

The five-furlong dash at Haydock Park Racecourse, to predict the winner of the World Cup, was won by England – ridden by top jockey Bryony Frost.

Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions kick-start their World Cup campaign on Monday against Iran, before facing USA and Wales as they look to advance from Group B.

While England have only won the World Cup once, they have enjoyed impressive runs at recent tournaments, reaching the semi-final in 2018 and finishing as Euro 2020 runners-up.

Horses representing the top six sides in the World Cup lined up at Haydock on Saturday, with England recovering from a slow start to surge home and beat second-placed France.

England fans will hope the victory is a good omen ahead of Qatar, with the Three Lions currently 8/1 with Betfair to lift the World Cup.

Former England manager Glenn Hoddle was on hand to present the trophy to leading jockey Frost and trainer Paul Nicholls.

The ex-England midfielder and Betfair ambassador said: ‘The whole thing was great, really good fun and a really good race. It’s always good to beat the French! The French were coming first and we just pipped them.

‘So what’s lovely is it sets it up nicely for Qatar and now the boys have got to go out there and win it for the country. That would be a great double!

‘When you’re in a World Cup tournament, you need to take every positive you can get. The boys will be trying for their country as Bryony Frost was for England today.’

Frost added: ‘England gave us all a boost last year when we were piling into the pubs to cheer them on in the Euros, so hopefully we can go even further this year.

Top jockey Bryony Frost steered England to victory (Picture: Betfair)

‘I hope football comes home, so I’ll be cheering on the lads. We all really enjoyed the race, the vibe coming out with all the jockeys was awesome and the crowd absolutely loved it too.’

The Betfair Race to the World Cup Stakes was supported by the Professional Jockeys Association, British Horse Racing Authority and the Jockey Club.

Betfair donated £10,000 to the Injured Jockeys Fund on behalf of the jockeys, owners and trainers that contributed to making the race possible.

While England have a fairly favourable route to the knockout stages, almost half of football fans believe they will fall short in Qatar and suffer a quarter-final exit.

The leading World Cup contenders took place in the race (Picture: Betfair)

A YouGov survey of over 1,600 football supporters on behalf of Betfair has revealed 41% of fans think England will be knocked out in the quarter-finals, while just 5% believe football will come home for the first time since 1966.

On the survey, Hoddle said: ‘I think that’s quite a realistic percentage from the fans. I think they’ll go further than that, and I’m expecting them to go to the semi-finals.’

Former Manchester United and France defender Patrice Evra added: ‘If they think England are going to be out, merci beaucoup, like we say in France, fantastique.

‘We’ll see. It’s difficult to do some predictions before the competition has started. If England play against France, they’ve still got a chance.

‘France vs England is always an interesting and exciting game. I remember my last game playing against England at a major tournament was in the Euros and we drew.

‘For them to go to the quarter-finals, will it be enough for the English fans or not? That’s the question. I know they want England to win it.’

MORE : Glenn Hoddle predicts World Cup winner, dark horses and England’s star

MORE : France make surprise decision over Karim Benzema replacement

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Top jockey Bryony Frost steered England to victory at Haydock Park.