At his third attempt, The Tin Man has hit the jackpot in the Group One Sprint Cup at Haydock for trainer James Fanshawe and jockey Oisin Murphy.
Raging favourite Harry Angel burst out of the stalls without a problem this time after his mishap at Royal Ascot, but may have used up too much gas too soon.
Despite having a break on the field, he was treading water inside the final furlong (200m).
The challengers were coming from behind and The Tin Man hit the front and held off Brando and Gustav Klimt, to win by half a length after finishing second two years ago and third last year.
“He’s a wonderful horse and is so consistent,” Fanshawe said.
“I was concerned about the (heavy) ground, but the rest of the family love it. It’s easy to say after the event.”
The winner of the 2017 Diamond Jubilee, The Tin Man missed the Hong Kong Sprint in December when he became ill.
“It’s amazing because the vets in Hong Kong did a fantastic job. He nearly died in Hong Kong. He had a temperature and we couldn’t run him,” Fanshawe said.
“We got him back and the vets have done a great job getting him back again.”
Murphy has also won the Coral-Eclipse, Sussex Stakes and Juddmonte International this season at Group One level.
“I’m so lucky to have found so many good horses in such short space of time,” Murphy said.
“This was great. He’s a horse I’d looked forward to riding all week
“It wasn’t until Monday or Tuesday until I got the call to ride. I had a few sleepless nights, but I believed the horse could win.”
