The 6/5 favourite Merchant got to Wimbledon Hawkeye in the final stride to win the HKJC World Pool Gordon Stakes.
It was a war of attrition through the final two furlongs of the Group Three contest, run on rain-sodden ground at Goodwood, in a torrential downpour and following a flag start.
It looked like the front-running runner-up would hold on for much of the closing stages but under a strong Tom Marquand drive, Merchant hit the line first, only a nose ahead of his gutsy rival.
The pair pulled fully seven lengths clear of Windlord in third.
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The winning rider told ITV Racing: "You needed a brave horse there. Wimbledon Hawkeye got a good run down the hill and kept building momentum. He put him them the sword. Mine hated the ground but kept gritting his teeth and got there just on the line.
“I don’t think he knew how to get going on the ground and I was asking him to do something that he hasn’t done before. I think he’s a St Leger horse but the chances of getting a quick ground St Leger would be slim enough."
He's 10/1 from 12s with Paddy Power and Sky Bet for the Doncaster Classic.
Haggas added: “I wasn't sure if Merchant had won. Roger Varian walked down the stands with me and said he had. It was tough and the horse had to show lots of guts. James [Owen] has got Wimbledon Hawkeye back to his best and that horse ran a fantastic race on this ground. Probably, James will say he was an unfortunate loser, but something had to lose and something had to win, and we were lucky this time.
“I don't know yet about the St Leger. We will obviously talk to Harry [Herbert of Highclere Thoroughbred Racing] about it. My gut feeling is no because I don't think it did Desert Hero much good long-term. We had planned to go to the Voltigeur with Merchant, but he has had a race today and will need at least 10 days going very quietly before we decide what to do.”
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