The Ralph Beckett-trained Kinross once again displayed his class over seven furlongs when landing the Group 2 Lennox Stakes as he repelled Isaac Shelby by a neck under Frankie Dettori.
Backers of the 10/11 market leader would have had some anxious moments as Kinross found himself locked away against the rail for much of the contest, but the gap soon opened towards the inside as the pace began to lift and Ralph Beckett's charge quickened up smartly.
Isaac Shelby (5/2) went with the now two-time Lennox Stakes scorer but could never quite get on terms and found himself a neck behind crossing the line.
Beckett said: "Kinross has spent a good chunk of the last 48 hours with his left fore in a bucket because he trod on a stone. He's got very, very thin soles and he feels every pinprick. But when he gets here, he loves it here. He should have won it last year, really – he was unlucky, got trapped in and got there too late, but what a horse to own, and what a horse to train. He has been a joy to train, he really has.
"He likes soft ground because he is out of a Selkirk mare [not because of his thin soles], but over a mile, he handles it quick, and we'll take the same route again with him and try to dance every dance again. He'll go to York, he might go to Doncaster for the Park Stakes, I hope he'll go to Longchamp for the Foret, the sprint at Ascot, and Santa Anita. He is a gelding, that's what he's there for, he's got to dance every dance.
"He could go to Hong Kong, particularly with his owner being Hong Kong-based, and there is an idea that that might happen as well. We might have to duck one of the races here to ensure he gets there at the end of the year, but it's a good problem to have.
"He needs no work. He is a very clean-winded horse. You really don't have to gallop him at all – once he starts racing, he just spins up the same gallop every day at home, the same one, you don't even have to change that. He is very easy to train. He wasn't initially – he had a lot of problems at three, he didn't really get his act together until the end of that year, and then I had to geld him at four in the winter. But once he is in a groove, he stays in that groove – you don't have to do anything to keep him there."
Dettori said: "Kinross is my ATM machine! He keeps bringing in the money every year. He is super consistent, he's versatile and seven furlongs is his favourite trip. He's good for Marc [Chan, owner] who is not here today, but I'm sure he is watching on World Pool. All the credit goes to the Beckett team and this horse – he is a star.
"I think Marc wants to run him in Hong Kong at the end of the season, so fingers crossed for that, and there are plenty of other targets including the race he won last year at Ascot [Qipco British Champions Sprint]. He loves the soft ground, although he ran a great race in the Breeders' Cup on firm.
"Thirty-six years ago, it all started here when I was a 16-year-old apprentice. I have had some good days here, including this one."
Of the runner-up and French Guineas second, Brian Meehan said: "I am disappointed, obviously, but I'm very pleased with my horse. He ran all the way to the line. I don't know what the official distance is but he's that close to a genuine Group 1 horse.
"Sean [Levey] was very happy and said it was a solid run. I guess the cutaway helped Kinross a little bit, but he's a wonderful Group 1 horse and we were not far away – my horse is a three-year-old and relatively lightly raced. He is very good and only going to get better.
"We space his runs out generally, so I've got to talk to the owners and see what they'd like to do. I think the Foret is an obvious target, but we'll see. Like I say, I will talk to the owners, they will talk to me, and then we'll take it from there."
Paddy Power cut Kinross from 6/1 to 5/1 for the Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock.
