No Heretic prevailed in a thrilling finish to the Betway Chester Cup to win in his first run on the Flat for over 900 days.
The eight-year-old once again advertised National Hunt trainer Nicky Henderson's dual-purpose skills.
Having raced keenly in the early stages, No Heretic did well to hang on late in the piece as Iain Jardine's Nakeeta was delivered with a sustained challenge.
A photo-finish was called but No Heretic (11-1) got the verdict by a short head.
Silver Concorde was third, with Gabrial The Hero faring best of the Dr Marwan Koukash team in fourth.
Successful jockey Jamie Spencer said: "That's only his second run since 2013. To win a Chester Cup is a tremendous training performance.
"He's got the job done."
The pace, set by Adam Kirby on John Reel, was very sedate, with all the challengers stacked up behind.
Steve Rogers (7-2 favourite) appeared to be in the perfect position, with Gang Warfare just in behind him.
However, when push came to shove neither could quicken up as Nakeeta swept round the outside.
The giant No Heretic was just able to hold off the late lunge, though, to give Spencer a second win in the race in four years.
Alex Cole, racing manager to owners Jim and Fitri Hay, said: "It's amazing he could win. Poor Jamie must have no arms left as he pulled so hard.
"He jumped a fox at Leicester (May 2011) when he won, believe it or not, and was off for a year.
"Then he did a tendon and needed 1,000 days off. We thought we'd persevere as he's got a lovely pedigree and it's paid off.
"We switched him to a jumps trainer (from David Simcock) because they have heavier lads there and they just might be able to help him settle a bit."
Henderson was not even at Chester, instead attending today's National Hunt fixture at Kelso.
However, the Seven Barrows trainer said "it was a fantastic effort".
"He is a real individual and, as you saw in the race, he didn't give Jamie Spencer any respite.
"He is quite good at home but he can get stewed up about life. I think the hood helped him.
"We are not hard on him at home, it is just a case of keeping him to a routine.
"He took a long time to learn about jumping, to be fair, as he was always in a bit of a rush.
"We had him in at Newton Abbot today but we thought we would plump for having a go at something more ambitious.
"He had a very good draw, which helped, and we had to make the most of that.
Henderson seemed unsure of future plans, saying "there is the Ascot Stakes but let's have a look and see first as the owners also have Cardinal Walter, who, although is in the Swinton Hurdle at Haydock on Saturday, will probably run at York next week."
