Gordon Lord Byron came through the eye of a needle in the dying strides to snatch victory in the Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes at Ascot.
Tom Hogan's admirable globetrotter looked to have plenty to do a furlong out, but Wayne Lordan managed to weave his way between Tropics and Jack Dexter to land the spoils on the well-backed 5-1 joint-favourite.
Tropics was second for the Dean Ivory team, beaten a length and a quarter, with Jack Dexter another neck away in third.
Lordan said: "It was a bit tight, but he accelerated through.
"When he got to the front he actually slowed down a bit."
Hogan said: "I was very worried for a long time but, tactically, he got out of trouble.
"He had a break in the middle of summer - he injured his back at the Royal meeting.
"There's plenty of invitations for him, there's Hong Kong. He's not Breeders' Cup eligible, but I'm sure a deal could be made with the Breeders' Cup committee."
Forgotten Rules remains unbeaten
Forgotten Rules is the new clear favourite for next year's Ascot Gold Cup after defeating two former winners in the Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup.
It was a more-than-satisfactory result for Forgotten Rules' trainer Dermot Weld, but a bitter disappointment for connections of Leading Light, the 2-1 favourite and star of the Royal meeting, who was hampered when the eventual length-and-three-quarters scorer moved past him two furlongs from home.
Leading Light had claimed the Gold Cup from Estimate in an epic battle in June, but Michael Stoute’s mare was a shadow of her former self on the soft ground and now heads off for a breeding career.
Weld, perhaps the master trainer of stayers with his success around the world, had brought a four-year-old with just two previous starts under his belt, and one who had started off at the Punchestown National Hunt Festival.
In the end, the 3-1 chance finished too strongly for Biographer, and is already a best-price 4-1 favourite for the next Gold Cup.
Weld said: "This has been a lucky meeting for me.
"I won this race with Rite Of Passage a few years ago and this is a pretty similar horse.
"I knew when he beat a good mare (Shu Lewis) at Galway that this was the race for him.
"I love training these stayers and hopefully he can become another Rite Of Passage.
"His target will be the Gold Cup next year, provided there is a bit of ease in the ground."
Forgotten Rules' jockey Pat Smullen was given a three-day ban (1 and 3-4 November).
More gold for Bronze in Balmoral
Bronze Angel (20-1) followed up his second Cambridgeshire success three weeks ago on fast ground when coming out on top in an ultra-competitive Balmoral Handicap at Ascot.
The 27-runner field split in two groups and it was the far side that held court in this cavalry charge over a mile.
Empire Storm pulled clear over a furlong out but he was hauled in by 3lb apprentice Louis Steward on Marcus Tregoning's stable stalwart in the last 100 yards.
Maverick Wave got up for second, with Empire Storm third and Levitate fourth.
Steward said: "I'm pretty much speechless after that.
"For the horse to go and do that on that ground is amazing."
Tregoning said: "He might have another run this season but we'll have to see.
"He's been a very good horse for the yard and I can't say enough good things about him. He's very special.
"We were a bit worried about the ground coming into the race as he's never run on anything like it before but he's handled it well."
