QIPCO 2000 Guineas possible Cosmic Year made light work of his comeback in the Unibet Novice Stakes at Kempton on Wednesday evening.
Harry Charlton's three-year-old was already 8/1 for the first Classic of the season on the back of his debut win at Sandown in September, but bookmakers cut him a point or two to 6/1 and 7/1 generally after another ready success.
Odds of 2/9 tell you he was expected to win against novice company, including three newcomers, and he duly outclassed them, sprinting home under Oisin Murphy for a five-length victory.
By Kingman out of the Group One-winner Passage Of Time, he is bred to be good and he went some way to proving he has trained on very nicely from two to three even against opposition that weren't in his class.
Two of the newcomers, Hit Squad and Roaring Twenties, followed the Juddmonte-owned hopeful home.
However, Charlton warned that Newmarket isn't necessarily his next port of call, saying afterwards: "I don't definitely want to run on quick ground up and down on those dips.
"There's the French Guineas, Irish Guineas and different routes into Ascot, so we'll see.
"It was as much as we could have hoped for. There was no pace but we weren't going to make the running.
"They walked round and he's never going to pick up the bridle. They can be keen, but he never thought about it and I said to Oisin 'teach him something in the final furlong'.
"He's exceptionally laid back at home. This was his second start, he came into the ring a little bit colty but as soon as Oisin got on him he was fine."
Unlimited Replays
of all UK and Irish races with our Race Replays
Discover Sporting Life Plus Benefits
More from Sporting Life
- Racecards
- Fast results
- Free bets
- Full results and free video replays
- Horse racing news
- Horse racing tips
- Horse racing features
- Download our free iOS and Android app
- Football and other sports tips
- Podcasts and video content
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
