Goliath, a 25-1 outsider ridden by Christophe Soumillon, registered a surprise success in the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot on Saturday, breezing past the market leaders, Rebel’s Romance and Auguste Rodin, just over a furlong from home before quickening two-and-a-quarter lengths clear of Bluestocking at the line.

Goliath, who was stepping up to Group One company for the first time after finishing second in the Hardwicke Stakes over the same track and trip at Royal Ascot last month, was always travelling well just behind the pace and showed an impressive turn of foot to put the race to bed.

“When I saw [pre-race] odds of 28-1, I thought, no-one believes in him,” Francis Graffard, the winner’s trainer, said. “But he travelled so nicely and I knew he’d be able to quicken strongly.”

Auguste Rodin, by contrast, was the beaten favourite in Ascot’s midsummer showpiece for the second year running, and eventually trailed home in fifth place having failed to quicken from two out.

His performance prompted Aidan O’Brien, his trainer, to suggest that the track’s official going description of “good-to-firm” was incorrect.

“When we came here, we walked the track and we were very worried then,” O’Brien said. “It was good, good-to-soft in places, it was nowhere near good-to-firm, it was cut up on the rails and it was full of sand.

“But we knew we had no choice, that’s where we were and we had to go down there [in the race]. With the benefit of hindsight, we should have kept out, on the quicker ground, but that’s the way it is and that’s the way it fell for us today.”