Black Spirit showed the right spirit to run out a narrow winner of the Dubai Duty Free Arc Trial at Newbury.
Cameron Highland set out to make all in the 11 furlong Group Three contest but the writing was soon on the wall for favourite backers as the three year old backed out quickly at the business end, possibly finding conditions on the fast side.
Black Spirit, trained by Clive Cox, took up the running but only narrowly from fillies Lay Time and Coquet who threw everything at him in the run to the line but Adam Kirby's mount prevailed by a head to follow up his win in a Doncaster handicap.
Lay Time ran a fine race to go down fighting in second while Hughie Morrison will have been delighted to see Coquet return to form after disappointing in the Group One Yorkshire Oaks.
"I'm thrilled," said Cox. "He ran a great race to be second in the Wolferton Handicap at Royal Ascot but he got badly galloped into behind and he spent a month doing very little.
"Last week I was thrilled as we were just getting him back, and he's a very hardy horse so we have options abroad for him as well now."
