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Aidan O’Brien’s star stayer Kyprios made it a perfect seven wins from seven starts this season when readily landing the Group 1 Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup at Ascot on Saturday.
Just a fortnight after claiming his eighth top-level success in the Prix du Cadran at Longchamp, Kyprios was once again a warm order when sent off the 8/11 favourite to add to his ever-growing impressive CV.
Ryan Moore always looked happy with his position behind the pace-setting stablemate The Euphrates and with the minimum of fuss, Kyprios took up the running approaching the final two furlongs.
John and Thady Gosden's Doncaster Cup scorer Sweet William briefly looked a danger as he attempted to mount a challenge, but he was soon brushed aside by Kyprios, who galloped on relentlessly for a comfortable two-and-a-quarter length triumph.
Trawlerman, who lowered the colours of Aidan O'Brien's star in this twelve months ago, had to settle for the bronze medal this time, while the David Menuisier-trained mare Caius Chorister stayed on well to defy odds of 66/1 back in fourth.
"The people around him, everyone who is involved with him, made it happen," said O'Brien, who was registering his first winner at the meeting since 2019. "There's such a big team around him, so many people involved with him but he's a very special horse, he's something we've never seen before.He's relentless, he's an unbelievable amount of quality so it doesn't matter if you go slow or if you go fast, he just goes there and he switches off. Ryan rides him incredibly; he knows him inside out."
On how the race panned out, O'Brien added: "We thought that John's horse would go forward, he made the running last year, and Christophe's horse was very happy to make the running when the last time we met.
"We were very happy for John's horse to go if he wanted to go. Christophe jumped out and gave him the opportunity to go so and then he knew nobody was going to go. It was perfect, Ryan was there then, second, and it was really the pace Ryan wanted to go. What can I say about Ryan? When you see him in that position it's usually very good for us."
Coral cut Kyprios to 7/4 favourite (from 5/2) for the Ascot Gold Cup at the Royal meeting next June.
O'Brien said: "The plan was to come here, then give him the winter off, then give him two trials before the Gold Cup [at Royal Ascot] next year. So that's what we are working for - we will get through the winter and the spring and try to come back here for the Gold Cup."