Rebel's Romance shines in Yorkshire Cup for Godolphin

Aidan O'Beien's Continuous took them along under Ryan Moore in the mile and three-quarter contest, tracked by the up-in-trip Rebel’s Romance, with Sweet William settled in third.

After turning into the straight still at the head of the pack, Moore opted to remain towards the inside of the track on Continuous, with William Buick electing to fan out on 11/10 favourite Rebel's Romance, who was tracked by Sweet William and eventual runner-up Epic Poet. The outsider Alkasib was rather marooned in the centre, charting a solo path.

Continuous tried to grind it out and stuck to his guns but popular globetrotter Rebel's Romance was in front with a furlong to travel and although 7/1 Epic Poet laid down a strong challenge as the line loomed near the stands' side, Godolphin's seven-time Group 1 winner held on by a head in a tight finish all round.

Sweet William was third, Alsakib fourth and Continuous ended up last of the five runners.

Appleby said on Racing TV: "He’s an honour to us all and you wouldn't mind half a dozen like him.

"We thought let’s just try him over an extended trip – for him anyway - and we can look at options then, races like the Goodwood Cup.

"I often think that when they go steady, and it turns into a sprint, they all hold a little bit of a chance then.

“He’s relentless and loves to dig in when he has to."

Paddy Power cut the winner to 8/1 (from 10s) for the Coronation Cup at Epsom early next month.

Buick said: "He's a superstar, he's so versatile. He can do it any way and he does one thing each time he runs - he sticks his neck out, he wants to win and is a winner. He's an incredibly special horse to be involved with.

"He has that aura about him, you see him every morning and he has that presence. He's a special horse and when he gets declared - gets an entry - it's always exciting, it's special.

"He was nice and relaxed, we had to make a move at some stage. The only thing when you make a move on him when you've gone that slow over that trip is that he comes alive quite quickly but once he gets into a rhythm and into his big stride, he's never going to stop. He just keeps building that momentum all the way to the line.

"He fought them off one by one, I'm delighted with him. He's done it like that all over the world. I've often said he makes his own luck in races and that's what he, very few horses can do that but he's one of them. We've been all over the world together, it's incredible really."

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