Los Angeles all heart under 'brilliant' Moore ride

Los Angeles added his name to an illustrious roll of honour for the Tattersalls Gold Cup, as he battled gamely under Ryan Moore to claim this prestigious Group 1 prize.

Last season's Irish Derby hero and the winner of the Mooresbridge on his return earlier this month, the Aidan O'Brien-trained four-year-old was expected to follow-up this afternoon.

Sent off the 9/4 favourite, the Camelot entire raced mainly in third under Moore and was pushed along to lead with less than two-furlongs to go.

Soon ridden, he was tackled and headed by Anmaat inside the final furlong, but battled back gamely to regain the lead in the closing stages, ultimately beating that rival by half-a-length.

The runner-up was return at 8/1 under Jim Crowley for Owen Burrows, while Kalpana (5/2) and White Birch (3/1) were close-up in third and fourth respectively, with both not getting clear runs.

"We're delighted, Ryan gave him a brilliant ride," O'Brien, who was completing a double, commented.

"He's a good, hardy, tough horse and he's at his best when the pace is on.

"Wayne did an unbelievable job. Poor Continuous (broke slowly before soon improving to lead) has obviously been running over a mile-and-six and two miles and he was a little bit shocked with those.

"It was a very good race, they are very high class horses, and you can't miss a beat with those. Obviously Wayne was there to make sure it was a solid pace for everybody and he did great to do that.

"I think they did everything right, they jumped and it was solid. All those riders ride tight and they don't give each other an inch but it was a very clean, strong run race.

"The second horse came to him, a very high class horse, but the pace was solid and there was nowhere to hide out there.

"Ryan was brilliant on him and I'd say he was waiting on someone to come to him because he felt he had plenty when they did come, and that's exactly what happened.

"You couldn't be happier. Obviously the plan was to come here and go to the Princes Of Wales and then either have a look at the King George or have a little rest and have an Arc trial and then the Arc.

"That was the plan all year. We'll take it one day at a time.

"He ran in the Arc last year and it didn't suit him at all, he got left in front by himself and all he was doing was waiting. It was a bit of a mess for him.

"He's a big, idle, relaxed horse and when he was there all he was doing was waiting on them to come and take him on.

"When the pace is on in front of him he'll follow any pace and he'll fight. No horse likes a fight better than him.

"We were over the moon with him last year and we knew what we did wrong. We knew we should have had something to take him but it was just the way it was.

"We had discussed after if there was no pace that he would go on but Ryan said he was just waiting all the way. He's an exciting horse going forward.

"As a physical he's massive. It's hard to believe how big and powerful he is until you stand beside him and he has an incredible mind, he's so relaxed.

"I'd say any race through the whole year is going to find it hard to stand up to the ratings of all these horses. When all these are added up it's going to be an incredibly high rating band.

"All the top middle distance, mile-and-a-quarter and mile-and-a-half, horses were there. It's very unusual.

"That's what we were always hoping this race would turn into. Obviously there was race similar to it in France this year but the ratings of this race have gone through the clouds."

Moore, who was completing a quick treble, added: "He is a big powerful strong lad, that was the best he has been today. He done everything beautifully and it was a proper horse race. There was no hiding place.

"The second is an older horse, but he is proven at the top level and he put it up to me, but my fella found plenty. I couldn't be happier with him really.

"Obviously he is a Camelot and they do tend to get better as they get older and you can see the size of this lad, there is still a bit more in him.

"I'd say the second horse probably went a neck up, but my lad was well on top again at the line. It was a very good performance."

STEWARDS REPORT

At the request of the Raceday Stewards, R.G. Ryan, rider of Ghostwriter trained by Clive Cox (in GB), reported to the Stewards' Secretaries that his mount rolled a little to his left and clipped a heel at about the six furlong marker. The Raceday Stewards reviewed the incident and were satisfied that no further action was warranted.

Additional reporting by Gary Carson