Robin Hood hits the target for Vaughan

To give due credit to the all-weather specialist, he had finished second to Farraaj in last year’s race and Vaughan had brought the 10-1 chance to the boil for the Group Three event with three lead-up outings.

Robin Hoods Bay was fourth to the 7-4 favourite Grandeur in last month’s trial, and with the market leader managing initially to overcome his outside draw before weakening disappointingly, jockey Luke Morris found his chief rival to be Godolphin’s Windhoek, whom he passed inside the final furlong and defeated by three-quarters of a length.

Farraaj was only fifth and jockey Andrea Atzeni was given a three-day ban (April 6, 7, 8) for causing interference to Windhoek at the first bend of what was a messy race.

Vaughan said: “He had a couple of little niggles early on, but I’ve left 10 per cent of improvement in him each time he’s run in order to be ready for this.

“He was 64-rated (as a younger horse), but I’ve said he could be the best horse I’ve trained and he’s proved it.”