Racing: Aidan O'Brien and his Group One express rolled into Sandown to secure a 12th top-flight victory of the season as Mount Nelson landed the Coral-Eclipse.
The Ballydoyle team have mopped up in Europe so far this term, and were taking their fourth Eclipse as Johnny Murtagh produced his mount with split-second perfection.
Having initially held up the 7-2 chance towards the rear, he started to make his move with two furlongs left to run in the mile-and-a-quarter event.
The four-year-old hung right slightly when making his challenge but still made relentless progress down the outside of the field to get the better of a ding-dong battle with Phoenix Tower.
The latter was bidding to give Henry Cecil a first win in the race for 30 years but the Warren Place maestro lost out by a short head, with Pipedreamer a length down in third.
Mount Nelson's success was his second victory at the top table having landed the Criterium International as a juvenile in 2006, while he only raced once last year due to injury.
O'Brien said: "He is a very good horse this fellow. He had a few little problems at three and tore off a shoe at the start of the spring last year and took half of his foot with it.
"The whole team did a great job to get him back and they need to take all the credit. He is an amazing horse to come back and we didn't think he would make it.
"He was a Group One winner at two and has run well this season. He got tired first time out at the Curragh in soft ground and has run well in France and in the Queen Anne. He was fifth that day and Seamie (Heffernan) thought he would have been closer with a clear run.
"He has been progressing all of the time and you will see more improvement from him.
"I wasn't sure whether he had won at the line but Johnny felt he won a bit cosy."
Just six days on from a sixth Irish Derby success, O'Brien paid tribute to his staff.
He added: "We are very lucky to have so many great horses this year and so many special people working for us. To cap it all we also have an unbelievable jockey in Johnny.
"Every year more and more special people come and join us and it is a privilege to be working with these people."
Murtagh added: "I rode Motivator in the race a few years ago and Aidan won the race that day with Oratorio, but thankfully I was in the right camp today.
"This was his first run at the trip this year but I felt from early in the season that a mile and a quarter would suit him well.
"I always felt I was going to get there and I was on top in the last 100 yards. The second did not give up but my lad got there and delighted the crowd."
Reflecting on his astonishing season so far, Murtagh added: "Most stables rely on one horse but when I first went to Ballydoyle I couldn't believe the standard of horse walking round the barn."
Cecil, who has also suffered reverses in the Eclipse with the likes of Bosra Sham and Reference Point, said: "He just got headed on the line. I think he put his head back in front of the other horse again but Mount Nelson just came back again.
"He's run a blinder and he's in everything now but we haven't decided what to do."
John Gosden saw Pipedreamer finish third for the fourth consecutive time this season and is now considering a drop in class before raising his sights again.
He said: "We will try to knock off a Group Three like the Rose Of Lancaster at Haydock, but I would not hesitate to run him in the International at York if the ground was good."