Ryan Moore led the stylish filly Opera Singer to her second Group 1 win in the Nassau Stakes, with Emily Upjohn barely a fixture in the contest.
Opera Singer won his first ten furlong race at Goodwood thanks to a fine frontrunner from Moore.
The young filly, last season's champion, suffered a setback in the spring that delayed her return to racing and ruled her out of the 1000 Guineas.
The daughter of Justify exceeded expectations when she made her comeback in Ireland, finishing third, and was narrowly beaten by Porta Fortuna in the Coronation Stakes but has since thrown down the gauntlet.
Moore was keen to take command of Aidan O'Brien's race and she pulled away to take the lead by two lengths with two furlongs remaining.
The finishers went well ahead in the final furlong, with Andrew Bolding's See The Fire tying the neck in a personal best, while French Oaks winner Sparkling Plenty was third behind the 9-4 winner.
But Upjohn, who took the supplement, was disappointed and there was no threat of serious damage.
O'Brien said: “We're very positive about Justify. When Ryan got off Justify last year, he said she would come back and win the Arc. When he got off Of Troy last year, he said the same thing. He said he'd never ridden a horse like that before.
“Ryan gave her an incredible ride and was very confident in her. We listen to what Ryan says, we listen to what he tells us, and we always follow him.
“Ryan said after Boussac last year, 'This filly is going to win the Arc'. We had a break with her in the spring and when she ran in the Guineas in the spring she was nowhere near ready to run on the track.
Ryan Moore Wins Nassau Stakes
“We then took her to Ascot and she had a great race, but what we always wanted to do was get her up to a mile and a quarter and that was here.
“There's a good chance she could run a mile and a half. Ryan said she was very classy to do that in front of that bunch of fillies and Ryan said she fought too. I was really impressed with her.
“She could go to one of the filly races in France, she could go to a track (Paris Longchamp), Vermeille or something like that, but the men will decide what to do.
“I don't think she needs to jump the journey before the Arc, but she can. We'll see. I don't want to say she's going to do anything, but she's going to have to run at least once before that.
“She ran very strongly for the first mile at Bussac, and she powered through to the furlong marker and crossed the line.
“I couldn't believe she was deployed to Irish Guinea. I couldn't believe it. She wasn't ready to be deployed, and she was.
“On the second day Ryan felt another horse coming up and that messed up his pace a bit. He was very happy with her and she lost to a very good mare.
“The mares always seem to be whining for a mile and a quarter or a mile and a half. The one thing about them, justifying it, is that they keep going. They're all the same, they just keep going.”
Speaking further about his rider, O'Brien smiled. “Ryan? He should be improving until he's 45, and he's only 40! I tell him all the time. He gets better every year.”
Moore said: “I was confident she would stay. When she won the Boussac at a mile last year, we always thought she would be a very good 10-12 furlong filly if she held on very well.
“We're still learning about her, but she's shown that she's the best. She has to build on that. She does everything beautifully.
“I thought she was going to take a lot of beating today and hopefully she'll bounce back. I can definitely see her being an Arc filly, but there's a lot of water under her legs.”
Jan Brueghel claims his legacy.
Jan Brueghel challenges Leger claim with brave win in Gordon Stakes
Jan Brueghel showed his ability by defeating Vellum Justum to maintain his unbeaten record in the John Pearce Racing Gordon Stakes at Goodwood.
The son of Galileo started the favourite at 4-5 and, encouraged by Ryan Moore, easily held on to Meydan's impressive early lead before a close two-furlong battle with Andrew Bolding's Bellum Justum.
Meydan took a five-length lead early in the mile and a half race but was overtaken by Aidan O'Brien, who ran the distance from home.
Jan Brueghel took the lead, but he was not alone as Bellum Justum battled for the lead, and the pair battled it out in the final 100 yards.
But Moore demanded more and Jan Brueghel narrowly won, securing Group 3 victory. It looks like more players will be in the tank.
O'Brien said: “He's obviously held up well, but he's very childish. Very novice. He did one more lap in the parade ring and Ryan said he was very novice when he started.
“He said he was happy when the horse was ahead, but he was very novice when he was on his own. He is a baby and will improve a lot.
“I would say time and distance will improve him. He's just a big baby and you can see it now. I'm delighted. We've had him at the Curragh twice and are delighted to have him here.
“You should be very happy and Ryan has been very good to him.
“He led the other two to the leader and then he was left there, he did nothing but look around and because he was a baby he couldn't focus. Even when Ryan told him to fight he fought, so considering that he should be very happy.
“I think he should go straight to the St Leger. It's been a bit of an intensive training run coming here and he's had to learn a lot in a short space of time. It's only his third run but I don't think he'll have time to run in between.
“He's a lot heavier today than he was on his last run. That's unusual. It usually means he's maturing a lot. It could mean he's out of shape, but he doesn't look any lighter. He's definitely maturing.
“Also, St. Leger's Royal Ascot-Illinois winner and Irish Derby winner Los Angeles are possibilities.”
“He’s still going to get better,” Moore added. “He’s definitely got more class, we’ve got to get that out there.”
The most popular Black Forza reels in Richmond
Irish smiles brighten as Black Forza takes off in Richmond
Fast-finishing Black Forza upset the popular Striken Viking to win the Markel Richmond Stakes for Irish handler Michael O'Callaghan.
Most of the talk before the race was about Wathnan Racing's new acquisition, The Strikin Viking, who emerged as the 11-10 market leader and was soon set to take charge of the six-furlong event.
Despite struggling early due to a tropical storm, trainer Hamad Al Jahani edged Striken Viking ahead at the final furlong mark to claim his maiden British turf race win.
By this time the Black Forza was out of the way near the rear and wasn't even considered until it was put into top gear and under the command of Dylan Brown McMonagle.
The son of Complexity raced inside ahead of just one of the frontrunners, clearing six contenders before overtaking the frontrunner in the closing stages to win by half a length at 9-1.
O'Callaghan said: “It's fantastic. It's really special to win at Richmond. He's the horse we bought at Breezeup and Goodwood was a lucky day for us.
“I wasn't here when Steel Bull won the Molecomb (2020), but this horse was supposed to be here before she had her maiden. It was a loose plan, but I'm glad it worked out.
“He's a talented youngster and loves the ground. He was completely exhausted for the first half of the race but ran very strong towards the finish. He's been better in better races and we'll enjoy today and then make a plan.”
He continued: “He just has a bit of class. You need class to finish a race like that. We'll be hoping he can finish seven furlongs in time and maybe run a mile around the turn.
“He's an American horse, so we'll see how he develops.
“He's a very, very good mover. You always take a risk, especially buying a first-season stallion to put on grass.
“He's proven that he can play on grass too. It's been really good and everything has worked out well.
“He has a lot of choices. He'll enjoy today first and then make plans.”
