Day two of the Boodles Chester May Festival produced another Ballydoyle domination in the feature, the MBNA Chester Vase.
Venice Beach, the seeming first string on jockey bookings, led home a one-two-three for Aidan O’Brien in what is a traditional trial for the Epsom Derby next month.
From the outset, the Tipperary maiden winner broke well under Ryan Moore but took a position behind his stable mate The Anvil.
Moore angled his mount out as they turned for home and got to the front just over a furlong out.
He had the race sewn up within the final half-furlong and held his fast-finishing stable mate Wing Of Eagles by a length and a quarter with The Anvil a close third.
For Moore, his excellent record in the mile and a half contest sees his total in the race extend to seven.
The 33-year-old has partnered up with the Ballydoyle maestro to take the last five runnings. Of those five, Ruler Of The World went on to take the prize en-route to Derby glory in 2013.
“I thought it was a very good performance from a lightly-raced colt who is still learning an awful lot,” reflected Moore.
“He started very well, they didn’t go mad. He was just a little bit babyish through the race. Every time I asked him he kept picking up the bridle and when he had a bit of room to go in the straight he picked up and won his race.”
Closely related to Arc-winner Danedream, the three-year-old son of Galileo had proved himself over the distance after taking his maiden by five-lengths over the trip last month.
O’Brien said: “We knew that he stays a mile and a half he did that with Donnacha [O’Brien] the last day.
“He’s a little bit lazy, a little bit babyish that’s why we felt it was important to bring him here he had a good bit to learn. You’d have to be very happy.”
He had a good bit to learn
Earlier in the afternoon, the Jim and Fitry Hay-owned Deauville resumed winning ways in the Group 3 Huxley Stakes.
Quickly away from the stalls under Moore, the four-year-old looked to gain a fairly easy lead in front.
He stole a march on the Sir Michael Stoute-trained Poet’s Word and managed to last out by a neck.