Hove-born trainer John Gosden and his soon Thady's stable star Stradivarius held off three other challengers include Brighton chairman Tony Bloom's horse, Stratum to win the Lonsdale Cup at York.

The great stayer had a question or two to answer after his defeat in the Gold Cup at Ascot – but he dug deep to answer every call for Frankie Dettori as the pair duelled with William Buick on Spanish Mission.

With the crowd enthralled as they watched the duo race for the line, Stradivarius, who went off as the 4-6 favourite put his head in front when it mattered to spark huge cheers from the fans.

The Argus:

The win means Stadivarius has now won his third Lonsdale Cup.

After the race Gosden senior told ITV Racing: “He used to sting like a butterfly and float like a bee, but he’s a little more rope a dope now!

“There was not the pace he likes. He likes a good pace to run at, so it was always going to be a fascinating race. Spanish Mission put it up to him, Frankie said he headed me, I got back, then he headed me and I got back.

“It was a proper race for everyone to watch. What a great race with Spanish Mission – two fabulous horses.

“He’s phenomenal to have won four Goodwood Cups, to win three Gold Cups, three Lonsdales now, two Yorkshire Cups and the Doncaster Cup. Full marks to him. A great performance and we’ll see what we want to do.

“He still enjoys his training and is enthusiastic about it all. A stronger race at his age suits him better.

“The horse will tell us, it’s not our decision. As long as he’s enjoying his training and racing then we keep on. When that starts fading then we’ll stop.”