The well-backed East India Dock justified 9/4 favouritism in the Ladbrokes Chester Cup.
The four-year-old needed nearly every yard of the two miles, two furlongs and 140 yard trip to put the race to bed having been off the bridle with two furlongs to run.
At that stage eventual fourth Leinster (10/3) led the stalking runner-up Caballo De Mar (11/2), who committed for home and went on soon after.
However, inside the final furlong Harry Davies, winning the race for the second successive season, was engaging top gear aboard the winner who swept by to win by a length.
Zoffee (14/1), who gave Davies his 2024 success, ran another wonderful race in third.
East India Dock was last seen in action at Cheltenham when narrowly beaten into third in the JCB Triumph Hurdle.
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A delighted winning trainer James Owen told ITV Racing: “Unbelievable, this is the pinnacle of our training career so far. It’s lovely to get these horses. We missed out at Cheltenham with him, when he jumped the last in front we thought here we go but just got collared on the line.
"What a lovely horse to come back and do it on an occasion like this, on the tightest track he's ever run around. Harry gave him a very good ride, he was very good in the first furlong. If you watch it back he held is ground and he had a little flat spot turning in, but he gunned them down late and could have gone around again.
“We'll go to Royal Ascot now."
Davies added: “It was a shade cosy in the end wasn’t it?
"He obviously loves his racing. I was a bit worried. He has the blindfold on and I was the first horse in the gate and thought ‘oh no I don’t want him to go sleep in here’ but he jumped great and I was always happy to be following Callum Shepherd on Caballo De Mar.
"Ryan (Moore, on Leinster) was going a nice even gallop the whole way and my horse came alive once he straightened up. I knew we were going to win. The Gredleys have been very good to me and given me some very good rides and this is what it’s all about isn’t it."
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