The two races were run in contrasting ground conditions, and, as feared, Aidan O'Brien's stable star George Washington, the 4/7 favourite, had his speed blunted by the heavy going, finishing second behind Araafa, a horse who had occupied fourth spot behind him in the English 2,000 Guineas. A Stewards enquiry failed to alter the result.

With five and a half milimetres of rain falling overnight, the rumour machine went into overdrive regarding the enigmatic George Washington's participation, and it was very sporting of his connections to allow him to take his chance.

A rematch between the two horses is on the cards for Royal Ascot, where George Washington has the chance to put the record straight. However, as Noseda explained afterwards "I just had a hunch that my horse would like soft ground, whereas George Washington wouldn't, and we just rolled the dice, and gave it a go."

"I just felt we had nothing to lose, and everything to gain, " the trainer said. His judgement proved correct. "Obviously, the ground conditions played in my horse's favour, and he stays well, and saw out the trip."

Both men agreed that it was a shame to see George Washington get beaten, but the score still stands at one all, and there will be everything to play for at Royal Ascot.

Drayton, from the Tommy Stack stable, kept his unbeaten record intact with a threelength success under Wayne Lordan in the listed Isabel Morris Stakes. Cashmans cut the Danetime colt's odds from 10/1 to 8/1 for the Coventry Stakes, but Stack's son James suggested that the Railway Stakes would be a more likely option for Drayton. Lordan described his mount as "a smart horse, " and said "hopefully he'll improve again."

Miss Sally was sent off favourite to complete a double for trainer Michael Halford and jockey Johnny Murtagh in the Group 3 Weatherbys Ireland Greenlands Stakes, but she was unable to get in a blow behind the Dandy Nicholls-trained winner Moss Vale, and had to be content with third.

Moss Vale races in the familiar colours of Lady Chryss O'Reilly, and the five-yearold made virtually all the running to score by a length from Moon Unit.