Japan stayed on best to edge past short-priced favourite Crystal Ocean in an epic duel to land the Juddmonte International. 

The 5-1 shot provided Aidan O’Brien with his sixth victory in the race by the narrowest of margins, battling back bravely under Ryan Moore after Crystal Ocean had taken the lead, with Elarqam finishing third. 

“He’s got a great temperament. He’s kept improving since he ran in the Dante here and ran all the way to the line,” said Moore.

“It was a very hard battle and fortunately this lad got here really late. He’s hasn’t put a foot wrong and keeps getting better.”

Japan was cut to 5-1 from 10-1 by Paddy Power for the Arc in October. (fonte : RacingPost)