LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Two-time Melbourne Cup- winning trainer Dermot Weld’s Fascinating Rock denied John Gosden a second major racing prize in two weeks yesterday as he won the Champion Stakes at Ascot.

Irishman Weld, who became the first northern hemisphere trainer to win the race that ‘stops the nation’, as the Melbourne Cup is called, with Vintage Crop in 1993, watched on as Pat Smullen produced a devastating late burst down the inside rail to overhaul Gosden’s hot favourite Jack Hobbs.

Another Irish runner Found, trained by Aidan O’Brien, stole in at the death to take second as William Buick on Jack Hobbs found nothing in response.

“He’s a very good horse in the autumn,” was 67-year-old Weld’s succinct assessment of Fascinating Rock, who, he added, will stay in training as a five-year-old.

Gosden, who a fortnight ago finally captured Europe’s most prestigious race, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe with Golden Horn, wasn’t too down-hearted at Irish Derby winner Jack Hobbs’ second career defeat.

“He is still like a 15-year-old [teenager], he will race at four,” said Gosden, who had picked up the first race of the day with Frankie Dettori on board Flying Officer in the Long Distance Cup.

Half an hour, before French mile ace Solow made it nine successive wins and racked up his fifth Group One win in his career in taking the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.

The five-year-old — who sadly for his owners, the Wertheimer Brothers, will be no gold mine at stud as he is a gelding — came to win it under Maxime Guyon to take the £620,000 (US$950,000, 840,000 euros) first prize and take his earnings to over £4 million.

He was followed home by two outsiders in the Roger Varian-trained Belardo (33/1) and 66/1 shot Gabriel trained by Richard Fahey.

Second-favourite Gleneagles never looked like challenging for the honours under Ryan Moore, as fears over the ground by his trainer O’Brien proved correct and he could finish no better than sixth.

Head, who hails from the legendary French racing family which has produced champion trainers, his father Alec and sister Criquette, said his champion was a remarkable horse, especially as he has been on the go since March winning in Dubai.

“He’s very special, to be able to keep his form like that all year, with all those journeys he’s made and every racecourse,” said 68-year-old Head.

“He’s very sound, he’s easy to train and does whatever you want at home.

“He’s bred to get much further, so earlier in his career I tried to turn him into a stayer and then he got beat.

“He was working so well at home, so I put him over shorter.”

Guyon said his mount was almost on autopilot.