Jet Belle briefly rook over the lead in the straight as No Worries moved in to challenge. However, few could have foreseen what happened next as Killua Castle moved smoothly through the field and kicked clear of the pack. Louis The King, meanwhile, had moved into contention up the outside but, entering the final furlong, it looked as if his impost of 59kg would prove too much of a hurdle as he had the rest of the field beaten but simply did not look like getting to Killua Castle, who looked set to not just win, but to do so by a couple of lengths. Great horses don't know when they are beaten, though, and Strydom proved the ideal ally for Louis The King. Roared on by the crowd who seemed to sense that something special was in the offing, the son of Black Minnaloushe took off in the dying strides and scraped past his unvaunted stablemate for a famous victory.

Louis The King proved yet again that champion racehorses are the best tonic for the sport, and the crowd, many of whom would have no doubt been there to cheer him on to Triple Crown glory last season, could not have asked for a more thrilling spectacle. This was his seventh win from 11 starts and his third Gr 1 success. Victory here would also have gone a long way to dispelling the disappointment of his winter campaign in Durban where he endured dreadful luck in running in both his races and was unable to show his true ability. To underline his class, he was conceding between 3.5kg and 5kg to the next three home here.

Killua Castle, fifth in this race last year, had the form to be thereabouts at his best, but there was nothing to suggest he would turn in a performance of this magnitude. He had the rest of the field well beaten a long way out and it took a proven champion to deny him here. He has always hinted that he had a really big performance in him but has tended to be a bit in-and-out. His run here capped a superb race for trainer Geoff Woodruff (pictured) who, having saddled the trifecta in this race last year, was able to celebrate a 1-2 finish on this occasion.

Judicial was entitled to plenty of respect after his easy Victory Moon Stakes win and he ran a respectable race from an awkward draw while Wavin' Flag, the Gold Cup winner, ran a cracker over a trip short of his best, and fully justified his connections' decision to send him up to Gauteng.