Aidan O'Brien’s Luxembourg powered home to take the Holland Cooper Coronation Cup under a canny front-running ride from Ryan Moore.
The 9-4 chance was always handily placed in the five-runner Group One, which was run at a slow pace in the early stages.
Turning for home, the five-year-old was asked to accelerate by his jockey and he was well able to do so, dashing for the line and holding off the chasing Hamish to succeed by a length as favourite Emily Upjohn was well beaten in fourth.
A Ryan Moore MASTERCLASS 🪄
— Epsom Downs Racecourse (@EpsomRacecourse) May 31, 2024
Luxembourg gets Aidan O'Brien on the board in the @HollandCooper Coronation Cup 🏆 pic.twitter.com/vY26ofqC5i
O'Brien said: "Ryan controlled everything and at halfway he had everyone where he wanted them. It was an incredible ride.
"Ryan obviously always makes his own mind up, we always talk about different scenarios but once the gates open, he makes his own mind up. Obviously in the big races, he’s incredible."
Luxembourg has now claimed Group One triumphs at two, three, four and five, but this was a first victory over a mile and a half at the third attempt.
O’Brien added: "We always thought he was a mile-and-a-half horse. We ran him a bit short through the winter because the races were there, but genuinely he gets a mile and a half well.
"When he ran in the Arc, the ground was very soft and other things didn’t work for him, but I’d say he’s made to be a King George horse.
"This year he’s changed into an older horse physically, we think. We probably ran him too short to be fair to him, we asked him to do things that probably wasn’t fair to him. I think the last day we ran him over nine furlongs. Ryan just said he was a lot better than those runs.
"He gets a mile and a half well and he loves fast ground. I think nice ground will be a help to him, too. He’s a great horse to have, I think he will travel plenty. He’s at that age now and has a great mind on him."
Of beaten favourite Emily Upjohn, John Gosden said: "Obviously it was a steady pace, she’s a mile-and-a-half filly and wants a good pace.
"We’re happy and I did warn everyone before that this race would bring her on. She’s only run twice in the last year, and at home her work has been somewhat idle and this race will bring her on a bundle.
"We’ll look at something like the Hardwicke at Ascot, but she needs racing now and that will bring her on a lot."
