Trawlerman produced another strong performance at Ascot as he finished third behind old rival Kyprios in the G2 British Champions Long Distance Cup on Saturday, 19 October.
The duo were meeting at the Berkshire course for a third time, with Trawlerman having scored by a neck in the same race last season before Kyprios turned the form around with a length verdict in June’s G1 Gold Cup.
Smartly into his stride from stall one, Trawlerman led initially before being taken back to third on the inside of Sweet William as The Euphrates and Kyprios went on after a furlong and a half.
Sweet William looked to close on the leading two turning in, with Burdett Road also making a move up the inside of Trawlerman when The Euphrates started to fade approaching the final quarter-mile.
Kyprios went clear with Sweet William soon after, with Trawlerman rallying under William Buick to take a clear third over a furlong from home. The John & Thady Gosden-trained six-year-old saw out the trip well, going down by just under four lengths in total.
Thady Gosden said: “Trawlerman handled conditions today, although he’s a horse who likes to travel off a strong pace. You could see he was slightly over-racing behind the leaders but he ran on well in the end. He’s run out in Dubai before and we might take him back out for the Dubai Gold Cup again.”