Ventura Storm stuck on gamely to land the Listed spoils in the 1stsecuritysolutions.co.uk Feilden Stakes at Newmarket.
Leading two furlongs out in the hands of Ryan Moore, the Richard Hannon-trained colt was hard pressed in the closing stages of the nine-furlong contest but would not be headed.
Mengli Khan made the running until Middleham Park Racing's Ventura Storm (15-8 favourite) took over and Mengli Khan gradually faded out of contention to finish last.
That left Hamdan Al Maktoum's two representatives to put up the challenge. Mustajeer, from Owen Burrows' stable, battled on well but had to settle for second spot, a length and a quarter behind the winner.
Tathqeef, trained by John Gosden who sent out subsequent Derby and Arc hero Golden Horn to lift this prize 12 months ago, was another length and a quarter back in third.
Hannon said: "He's a really lovely horse and switched off well. Ryan Moore said he'd get mile and a quarter and he was very pleased with him. I've not given it much thought, but the Tercentenary Stakes at Royal Ascot might be an idea.
"He seemed to like this ground and is straightforward. Our horses have generally needed a run and he would have needed that, but he was probably good enough to. He was very unlucky in the Lagardere, he didn't get a run."
Middleham's racing manager Tim Palin said: "He is in the German 2000 Guineas but that won't happen. He'll be in the Dante and the French Derby and the Italian Derby. He could go somewhere before the French Derby, but would go straight to Italy. As Richard said, when you're in the promised land, it might be worth having a shot at the Dante and French Derby.
Burrows said of Mustajeer: "He did everything right. He settled nicely and we're very pleased. We'll get him back and make a plan. I thought he was going to get to Ryan's horse but he just kept finding that little bit more. I'm sure he'll get further. I think he's a mile-and-a-quarter, mile-and-a-half horse ultimately."
The victory marked the first leg of a double for Moore, who claimed the concluding Winning Post Pavilion Experience Handicap aboard the John Quinn-trained Speed Company (5-1).
Thikriyaat showed his appetite for a fight when maintaining his unbeaten record with a slender success in the EBF Stallions NGK Spark Plugs Conditions Stakes.
After making a winning debut in a mile contest at Chelmsford, the three-year-old knuckled down when it mattered most on his return to seven furlongs. Forging on late with favourite Tabarrak and Zhui Feng, the 8-1 shot forced a passage between the pair to get up in the dying strides and score by a neck.
Winning trainer Sir Michael Stoute, said: "He is game. He won his maiden last year and didn't get a handicap mark so we had to stick him in a conditions race. We thought the trip might be a bit short but it was nearly a mile and the times were slow. He has the right attitude but I don't know where we will go next."
Teruntum Star showed his appreciation for cut underfoot by bursting through late on to make a winning reappearance in the Ben Burgess & Co Handicap.
Although out of sorts on his last two starts, the four-year-old, who had undergone a gelding operation over the winter, bounced back to his best on the rain-softened conditions.
Darryll Holland, aboard Lucky Beggar, attempted to slip the field in the six-furlong event by opening up a sizeable advantage early on when going solo down the far-side rail. As the pack came back to the Charlie Hills-trained runner, it was the 16-1 shot that found most to motor through under Jamie Spencer for a length-and-a-half success.
Winning trainer Kevin Ryan said: "He has been working well but he obviously likes that ground. He travelled well and when they came into the dip and when they quickened I thought he was going to take a lot of beating. He will improve for the run but this ground is very important.
"There are one or two races we have in mind. He will have an early campaign and when we do get summer ground we will put him away and have an autumn campaign."
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