John Gosden was beaming with pride after Trawlerman, sporting ski goggles before the race, went down fighting in defence of his Gold Cup crown at Royal Ascot.
The eight-year-old attracted plenty of pre-Gold Cup attention ahead of his belated seasonal reappearance as he was fitted with the unusual headgear in a bid to alleviate an eye problem, which makes him sensitive to the sun.
The ski goggles had to be removed down at the start, after which Trawlerman ran a terrific race from the front, only being overtaken late on by the Aidan O’Brien-trained favourite Scandinavia.
Gosden said: “I thought to do what Trawlerman did off no prep race and a limited preparation time-wise, it was an unbelievable run.”
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