Causeway was finessed by Ryan Moore to win the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Just five runners went to post for the mile and a half Group 2, but Golden Story took the field along at a strong gallop having got a little sweaty beforehand.
Ancient Egypt (10/1) tracked the leader in second and appeared to be in the pole position to strike, but all the while Ryan Moore was gently encouraging the even-money favourite onto his heels on the outer.
Along with outsider Venetian Prince, second-favourite Water To Wine failed to pick up from the rear, meaning that it boiled down to a two-horse race as Golden Story understandably weakened.
Ancient Egypt gave his all for jockey David Egan, but Causeway always looked like he was getting there, and though the runner-up fought back, it was the son of Wootton Bassett who kept finding more to triumph by a neck for a fourth win of the season.
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Reaction from winning connections
Ryan Moore said: "He was just doing what he hard to do, I was just keeping him going to keep him interested. The two horses went along a bit, I didn't really want to be where I was. Every time I asked him, he just kept finding, when I asked for a little more, he gave me a little bit more; he's just done enough. There's more in the tank I hope."
O'Brien added: “Ryan gave him a great ride, but he is laid back and lazy. He barely does the minimum. He is a tough hardy horse and we always felt he would stay whatever trip we wanted him to. We started him at seven furlongs, then he went to a mile, then he went to a mile and a quarter, and he has gone to a mile and a half today.
“He is one of those horses that you don’t know what is in there. He only just does enough. Ryan only gave him one flick, and that meant he had four up his sleeve, but he still didn’t use them as he was obviously happy he was going to do enough.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we go too much further as he has class.”
Connections of beaten horses
Charlie Johnston, trainer of the runner-up, said: “I guess first and foremost I feel great pride in the horse. We knew it was a big ask to turn around so quickly after the Derby, particularly given the fact that race was run in such testing conditions. I’ll be honest, for the first week I was trying to think, how do I tell Kia I don’t want to run here? Thankfully the signs in the past few days have been that we should be here. I’m so proud of the horse, I’m gutted for the horse and for Kia, he puts so much into this game, he wants one here and we came very close.
"David said he did everything right. I was a little bit worried between the four and the three before they turned in, I thought he came off it a bit and I was concerned at that point whether he wasn’t really going to run his true race, but then you start looking at everyone else. I thought, William’s in trouble, Clifford’s clearly in trouble, there was always going to be one that came and loomed, you kind of knew it, the way the week’s gone, there was going to be an O’Brien there to test our mettle. I thought he was going to fight him off briefly, and he gave everything he could. Hugely proud of the horse and he proved he belongs at this sort of level and there’s a huge amount to be excited about for the rest of this year and next year.”
John Gosden, trainer of Water To Wine, added: “The ground was a bit quick. He’s a big unit, 17hh, found the ground a little bit lively for him and it’s getting quicker and quicker as the meeting goes on, and he’s still learning. He’s obviously run in a maiden and a novice, he’d be a lovely horse in the making, I liked the way he got organised finally in the straight and ran on to be third. It’s all education for him. William said, he still feels incredibly mentally immature. He’s still a work in progress; I look forward to seeing him on good ground, even in autumn good to soft, that kind of thing, I think we’ll see the best of him then. It’s very good to firm out there!”
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