Paddington was pushed all the way by rival Emily Upjohn but proved too good in the end to win a thrilling Group One Coral-Eclipse at Sandown.
The battle between Aidan O’Brien’s Irish 2000 Guineas star and the John and Thady Gosden-trained Coronation Cup winner had been billed as an epic and it lived up to that hype, with the pair separated by just half a length at the finish line.
As expected, West Wind Blows had set the pace for the four-runner field under Jamie Spencer, with Ryan Moore tracking in second on Paddington, stalked all the while by William Buick on Emily Upjohn.
Dubai Honour trailed them throughout as the field travelled around in single file for most of the mile-and-two-furlong journey.
It was Paddington who attacked first and looked as if he may run away with things, but Emily Upjohn loomed up with a dangerous challenge on his outside.
The front two pulled themselves well clear, but there was no passing Paddington, who has now three Group One races in a row and gives O’Brien a record seventh Coral-Eclipse title.
Paddington beats Emily Upjohn by half a length at Sandown
O’Brien said: “He (Paddington) just got there a little bit earlier than he (Moore) wanted and he just waited a bit. I just suppose his pace took him there and he didn’t break his rhythm and that was 100 per cent the right thing to do.
“When you are meeting a filly like that, she wasn’t going to lie down easily and obviously it would have been perfect for her, because she had a target to take her there.
“We knew how good she was and we wouldn’t underestimate her in any way.”
Paddington could now drop back to a mile again for the Qatar Sussex Stakes at Goodwood on August 2.
Ryan Moore salutes the Sandown crowd after Paddington’s victory
O’Brien added: “The plan after Ascot was to go straight to Goodwood and just because he’d done so well and John (Magnier) was convinced he would get it (10 furlongs) on pedigree, and Ryan was very happy as well, so that’s why we decided to come here.
“I would imagine if everything was well, there’s a good chance he would end up going to Goodwood. He hit the gates quicker than ever and Ryan said he travelled like a dream and his travel just took him there.
“I’d say there is a very good chance, but we will wait seven to 10 days to see what the lads really want to do.”
Equality a league above in Charge
Equality and William Buick pull clear in the Group Three Coral Charge
Equality produced a career-best performance to run out an easy winner of the Coral Charge.
The Charlie Hills-trained five-year-old had won a handicap at Windsor in clear-cut fashion on his last outing, but this was a first success at Group Three level.
Handy throughout under William Buick, he was given a lead into the race by Diligent Harry.
Existent had ploughed a lone furrow on the near side rail, with Jim Crowley exploring the possibility of better ground following some heavy rain, and with two furlongs to run he was still in contention.
That was the point Buick asked his mount to put the race to bed, though, and he sprinted clear.
Ed Walker’s filly Makarova added some more valuable black type, beaten a length and a half in second, while Tiber Flow claimed third. The favourite, Marshman, faced an uphill battle following a slow start.
Marquand at the double
Mystic Pearl (blue and yellow) wins the Coral Distaff under Tom Marquand
William Haggas will have to re-think his plans after Mystic Pearl spared herself a trip to the sales ring when springing a surprise success on her first venture at Listed level in the Coral Distaff.
Entering the mile contest off a rating of just 78, the daughter of Invincible Spirit showed herself to be well above that mark when finishing with a flourish to go one better than her previous start over course and distance.
Victory looked to be heading the way of German 1000 Guineas runner-up Stenton Glider, who had appeared to have got the better of all of her rivals following what looked like a well-judged front running ride by Andrea Atzeni.
However, it was not to be, with the 5/2 favourite having to settle for second-best again after being picked up late on by the 22/1 chance who eventually forged clear to score by three-quarters of a length and complete a 137/1 double for jockey Tom Marquand.
Trainer Roger Varian was hailed as an ‘absolute magician’ by the connections of Perotto, who gained his first success since the 2021 Britannia Stakes at Royal Ascot when running out a ready winner of the Coral Challenge.
Perotto got back to winning ways at Sandown on Saturday
The New Bay gelding made his third start for the Newmarket handler a triumphant one when responding well to a first-time hood to capture the £100,000 mile prize and bring to an end his two-year wait for career success No 5.
Bursting through inside the final quarter of a mile, the 5/1 joint-favourite kept on finding plenty for pressure on the climb to the line to defeat Ouzo by a length and a quarter and get the ball rolling for Classic-winning rider Marquand.