Sunday 3 November 2019 00:43, UK
Anthony Van Dyck had to settle for third place as Bricks And Mortar extended his winning sequence to seven when taking the step up to a mile and a half in his stride in the Breeders' Cup Turf at Santa Anita.
Chad Brown's five-year-old has been transformed since returning from surgery on a hind leg that kept him off the track for 441 days, and continued his amazing run on his first start since he obliged in the Arlington Million in August.
Irad Ortiz Jr bided his time just off the pace on the son of Giant's Causeway, before unleashing him in the straight.
The evens favourite powered into the lead and had enough in hand to hold United by a head.
Aidan O'Brien's Derby hero Anthony Van Dyck did not get the best of runs at a crucial point in the straight, while Old Persian, trained by Charlie Appleby, only beat one of the 12 runners home.
O'Brien said: "It looked like we were checked at a vital stage of the race, which impaired his momentum and in the circumstances he's run a very good race to finish third.
"Mount Everest was taking a big step up in class and will be a lovely horse next year."
Appleby said of Old Persian: "It's been a thread for the last two days that there's been no pace in the majority of the races, and he was further back than we would have liked.
"We'll just have to put a line through it, and he lives to fight another day."
Brown, who earlier took the Mile with Uni, said: "The mile and a half was the big question mark.
"He had trained so well it just came to me in the final weeks to make that decision.
"Irad rode a great race. It looked like he was losing a bit of ground on the final turn. I was quite worried he was not kicking on.
"I think the horse just needed a clear path and when he got in the clear he grabbed the bit again and ran on."
