Brown Panther (seen winning Irish St Leger)© Photo Healy Racing
Brown Panther hit the target for breeder and co-owner Michael Owen with a convincing victory in the Dubai Gold Cup at Meydan.
Richard Kingscote always had the Tom Dascombe-trained seven-year-old just behind the pace set by Mushreq in the two-mile Group Two, and he elected to make full use of the stout stayer's stamina by striking fully three furlongs from home, quickly going several lengths clear.
Ahzeemah and Star Empire gave chase, but it was a lost cause as Brown Panther (4-1 favourite) galloped with authority all the way to the line to pick up the £384,000 first prize.
Former England footballer Owen said: "He's been a superstar from day one and this man (Dascombe) has trained him to perfection.
"He always jumps really well out of the traps and he found himself right up there. The rest is history, as they say. He's a special horse. I'll probably never replace a horse like this. It's been an amazing story."
Dascombe added: "You spend months trying to get him right for the day and it's all gone well. After about 100 yards I was pretty confident it was going to be our day. They went a sensible pace, not too fast. He's a phenomenal horse. He doesn't know how to run a bad race. Hopefully he's better than ever."
Kingscote, who has only just recovered from serious injuries, said: "The boss has been keen to get him relaxed and he's done well. I'm really pleased with him. He travelled great. He got me in a nice position and looked after me the whole way round. It means a lot to be here and it's the biggest win of my career."
