Princess Zoe came out on top in a pulsating finish to the Longines Sagaro Stakes at Ascot.
The Tony Mullins-trained mare had to be tough under Joey Sheridan in the closing stages as she was challenged on both sides.
Hughie Morrison's Quickthorn laid down his bid down the centre of the track – but it was Ian Williams’ Enemy who was giving her particularly close attention on the rail, after William Buick had been forced to wait for a gap to come.
Aidan O’Brien’s Wordsworth and Brian Ellison’s Tashkhan were also in attendance, but had cried enough inside the final furlong
Enemy and Princess Zoe came close together and a stewards’ inquiry was called, but the popular grey kept the race to take Group Three honours as a 17-2 shot.
Thriller in the feature! 😬
— Ascot Racecourse (@Ascot) April 27, 2022
PRINCESS ZOE just gets up to beat QUICKTHORN on the line.
Back for the Gold Cup at #RoyalAscot? 🏆 pic.twitter.com/cplYzpWS0s
Mullins said: "I think she likes to come into her races and just loves a battle. She is just a warrior. I will never have the like of her again, anyway. When you have trained ordinary horses for 25 or 30 years and then you have one like this it is special. She is just part of the family."
He added: "We came here today to win. She was fit enough to win, but hopefully, if I'm any good to train, she is going to improve for Royal Ascot. The extra half-mile is going to make a difference anyway and I feel there is more in the tank.
"I have done very little with her from Saudi Arabia to here and we very nearly ran in Navan, but then I thought Ascot suited her better and I’m really delighted we came here now. I believe we will improve for the Ascot Gold Cup.
"I was anxious about the ground. I was a little surprised they didn’t water last night, which would still have left it good to firm, but not quite as quick as that. Hopefully she will be fine in the morning and then the whole build-up to the Gold Cup begins.
"I thought we would win the Prix du Cadran last last year and we got beat and I couldn’t speak for two or three minutes. I couldn’t breathe after the race – I thought she was a certainty. I just said 'get it out of your mind now and start building towards the Gold Cup’.
"It means the world. Nothing comes close. I have never had a horse like her and never will again. I hope I do, though.
"We have often had good horses who have got injured, but this one is like having your mother beside you – she turns up every time.
"She does what it says on the tin. Every time."
