James Doyle seemed keen to deflect attention from his own role in a captivating renewal of the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes on Saturday, which he won with a stride to spare on Poet’s Word after making up several lengths in the straight.

“I was forced to sit where I was, just [because of] the way that he broke,” Doyle said. “It’s looked great, but if I’d been beaten a neck, I’d have been frustrated. When you’re on a bit of a roll, things seem to fall right for you.”

A bit of a roll is an understatement as well. This was Doyle’s third Group One win in little more than a month, and his second in eight days after an equally well-judged ride on Sea Of Class in the Irish Oaks. Doyle’s talent and intelligence in the saddle have long been apparent and he has now added the self-assurance that comes only with repeated success at the highest level.

There were several moments on on Saturday when a rider with less confidence might have tried to force the issue, to make up for the slow start when Poet’s Word was sitting behind all but one of his six rivals for much of the race.

The most significant of these was Crystal Ocean, a stable companion at Sir Michael Stoute’s yard in Newmarket, and ridden by William Buick, Doyle’s closest friend in the weighing room. Buick, unlike Doyle, had been able to settle his mount in an ideal position just behind a strong pace, ready to strike in the straight.

Doyle would need to deliver his challenge late and his task was further complicated when Coronet, the horse he was following, started to drop away and effectively handed Buick another couple of lengths to play with.

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Crystal Ocean hit the front at the two-furlong pole with Doyle in headlong pursuit. Poet’s Word edged closer with every stride but it was only in the final few yards that he managed to push his nose in front. Poet’s Word had set off as the 7-4 second-favourite behind Crystal Ocean at 6-4 and while Doyle said that he was confident “from a furlong out that he was always going to get there”, it was a race that gripped the spectators until the final moment.

“He’s a true warrior,” Doyle said. “Everything he does, he’s so professional and he responds really well.

“I just had to be patient. The filly [Coronet] just dropped off a bit starting to round the turn, which was frustrating because Crystal Ocean was getting first run on me. I had to be brave and attack late and he’s helped me out. He’s the real star today.”

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Buick gave Crystal Ocean the ideal ride for a proven stayer up against a slightly speedier opponent, while Stoute, who was winning the King George for a record sixth time, also deserves huge credit for getting both horses to the starting gate in prime condition barely a month after wins at the Royal meeting.

“They are two wonderful, brave athletes,” said Stoute, who first took the race with Shergar in 1981. “There’s nothing between them really. It’s a race we’ve always loved to come and compete in and win. It’s a midsummer championship at a wonderful racecourse.”

Stoute, typically, offered no hint of where Poet’s Word or Crystal Ocean might race next, though the winner is the new favourite with most bookmakers for next month’s Juddmonte International Stakes at York.

“It’s a pity there was a loser,” he said. “That’s how to sum it up. Doyle could have done a little bit better and got a dead-heat.”