Sheikhzayedroad rolls back years as Simcock policy pays off

Winners may be the barometer by which all trainers are judged but David Simcock's policy to nurture longevity out of his team again paid huge dividends as Sheikhzayedroad followed up his Doncaster Cup success under Martin Harley.

In a field that included Gold Cup winner Order Of St George, stepping back up in trip after a fine third in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe just 13 days previous, experience won the day as seven-year-old Sheikhzayedroad pipped the year younger Quest For More in a repeat of their finishing positions from Doncaster, with odds-on Order Of St George only fourth.

A top-level winner over a mile and a half in his youth, Sheikhzayedroad has been reinvented as a stayer by Simcock this season, and although he may have lost a yard of pace in his old age, he was always well positioned in a tactical race before showing plenty of his old dash for a half-length success.