Dual Yorkshire Cup hero Giavellotto bagged another big prize in the form of the Princess of Wales's Stakes at Newmarket.
Having successfully defended his crown on the Knavesmire in May, Marco Botti’s star stayer had to shoulder a 3lb penalty when dropping down to a mile and a half in his bid for back-to-back Group Two wins under Oisin Murphy.
Six runners went to post and from the home turn the field split in two, with Giavellotto tracking the Juddmonte-owned pair of Arrest and Time Lock down the centre of the track, while 11-10 favourite Hamish sat in the wing mirrors of Outbox and Maxi Boy closer to the stands’ rail.
While the usually consistent Coronation Cup runner-up Hamish was in obvious trouble with over a quarter of a mile still to race and faded into fourth, 100-30 chance Giavellotto moved menacingly towards the front passing the final furlong marker and found plenty once asked for maximum effort to beat the gallant Arrest by three and a quarter lengths.
Ground permitting, Giavellotto will now bid to secure a first win at Group One level in the Irish St Leger at the Curragh on 15 September.
Botti said: "He showed he is not short of speed, especially on a stiff course. There was a genuine pace and we were a little bit concerned about the ground, but I think it has just about dried out enough to be on the soft side of good and it was a nice performance.
"Last year we were campaigning him at two miles and we went to Goodwood. We always felt he stayed well but it was stretching him over that trip. At the same time he has looked a stronger horse this year and we thought he probably has more speed than he did last year.
"Dropping back to a mile and a half was never really a concern I was always confident he would show his best today.
"He started off very early and went to Saudi Arabia and then Dubai, he has been on the go for a while but he enjoys the travelling and takes his work very well. We tend to space his races out a little bit, but at the same time he has definitely matured mentally since last year.
"I would say he is quite versatile, he has won on really fast ground and today he handled a little bit of cut in the ground. As long as it is not too soft, I think he is fine.
"He will go to the Irish St Leger and hopefully we get our ground – obviously it is a time of the year where it could go very soft. That has always been the plan and this was a stepping stone.
"Last year it was good to firm and let's hope we are lucky."
Whistlejacket stamped his class on the Kingdom Of Bahrain July Stakes at Newmarket.
Runner-up on his debut before running out an impressive winner of a Listed event at the Curragh, the No Nay Never colt lined up as an odds-on favourite for the Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot last month, but only picked up minor money in fourth.
Stepping back up in trip from five to six furlongs, Aidan O'Brien’s youngster was an 11-10 shot to reward those who kept the faith and ultimately did so decisively under Ryan Moore.
Whistlejacket was in front from an early stage on the July Course and while there were several still in with a chance passing the final furlong marker, the further the market leader went, the better he looked, passing the post with a length and three-quarters in hand despite drifting left.
Billboard Star was best of the rest in second, with the previously unbeaten Windsor Castle winner Ain’t Nobody a disappointing last of six.
Moore felt the return to a longer trip had played to Whistlejacket's strengths.
He said: "Obviously Ascot was good to firm and today is good to soft, but it’s not too bad at all. Perhaps the extra furlong is more probably significant.
"He didn’t run a bad race at Ascot, he wasn’t beaten far and as you saw today, it’s his fourth race and he’s still racing green. I think he’s a smart colt and he will have to step up again but he has class.
"He’s just a little bit of a raw horse still, a big, big boy. He does his work quite easily at home. He’s a fast horse and I think we will probably stay at six furlongs for the time being."
Al Musmak got his career back on track with a clear-cut victory in the Edmondson Hall Solicitors Sir Henry Cecil Stakes.
Six runners went to post for the one-mile Listed contest, with John and Thady Gosden's impressive York scorer Lead Artist all the rage to follow up as the 6-4 favourite.
Al Musmak had shown himself to be a smart colt as a juvenile, winning in Listed company at Haydock and finishing second to Ghostwriter in the Group Two Royal Lodge Stakes.
However, he failed to beat a single rival on his return in the Dante at York and his latest effort when seventh in the Hampton Court at Royal Ascot was not much of an improvement.
Stepping back in trip from a mile and a quarter to a straight mile, Roger Varian’s charge was an 11-2 shot in the hands of Silvestre de Sousa and dug deep in the heat of battle to beat Australian raider Kitty Rose by two and a quarter lengths, with Lead Artist back in third.
Varian said: "He ran poorly in the Dante in May, but I didn’t think he ran too badly at Ascot in a very hot Hampton Court Stakes.
"He didn’t quite get home and after that we were always going to come back to a mile. He’s really enjoyed the conditions out there, the race set up nicely and he was strong at the finish, so we are delighted to get him back on track.
"Just looking around, unless he stopped, I didn’t think much was coming back at him. The last furlong was a good watch.
"We’ll stay at this trip now and natural progression could be the Thoroughbred Stakes at Goodwood and we will see how he progresses in the autumn.
"He has some really strong juvenile form and even chased home Rosallion in the Pat Eddery Stakes at Ascot. He won a quite strong Ascendant Stakes at Haydock and then finished second in the Royal Lodge.
"Obviously we were disappointed with his first two starts this year and we thought it was the right thing to stretch him out to a mile and a quarter.
"It wasn’t, but back to a mile suited today. We never thought he wasn’t the same horse, it has maybe just taken a run or two to work out what we are doing."
