Aidan O'Brien landed an opening group race double on day one of York's Ebor meeting when Los Angeles dug deep to fend off stablemate Illinois in the Group 2 Great Voltigeur Stakes.
Aidan O'Brien's Irish Derby hero successfully carried a 5lb penalty to victory in the Group 2 Great Voltigeur Stakes at York on Wednesday, but he was made to pull out all the stops.
The son of Camelot chased home Ambiente Friendly and City Of Troy in the Epsom Derby before readily going two places better to claim Classic honours of his own at the Curragh.
Stablemates Euphoric and Illinois took the field along, but it wasn't long until Los Angeles worked his way to under the Ryan Moore drive. The challengers were queuing up from every angle, with King's Gambit produced towards the near side under Buick and Illinois rallying bravely under Wayne Lordon. Both attempted to get past Moore's mount inside the final furlong, but Los Angeles continued to find plenty for pressure and dug deep to claim the Group 2 prize by a neck.
BetVictor cut the winner to 3/1 favourite (from 9/2) for the St Leger Stakes, although connections are uncertain as to which direction their talented colt will head.
