Aidan O’Brien’s excellent week in the juvenile division continued when the well-backed 8/13 market leader Charles Darwin delivered in fine style in the opening Group 2 Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot.

After being beaten at odds of 4/6 on his debut at the Curragh earlier in the season, Aidan O'Brien's colt quickly proved what he was truly capable of by readily landing a Navan maiden before following up at 1/14 in a conditions event at Naas a month ago.

With experience under his belt, Charles Darwin was sent off the well-backed 8/13 favourite in the Thursday opener and was widely considered as the punter's 'banker' of the day.

Always towards the fore under Ryan Moore, he struck the front on the near side passing the furlong marker before readily seeing it out to score by two and a quarter lengths from Charlie Appleby's Wise Approach.

The George Weaver-trained US raider Sandal's Song ran a race full of promise back in third to continue to excellent start to the meeting for owners Wathnan Racing.

It was a third two-year-old victory for the Ballydoyle team this week following Gstaad's success in the Coventry Stakes and True Love's triumph in yesterday's Queen Mary Stakes.

"Charles Darwin is very fast – a big, powerful, strong horse," said O'Brien. "He has a very good mind as well, so he is very exciting. Ryan has always loved him – and everyone at home loves him. He looks like a four-year-old racing against two-year-olds.

"We were hoping that he would get a lead. He never sees the front at home in his work. He is always very happy to sit but, but he is very strong and very quick. Ryan does his own thing always. The gates open and he decides, so he was very happy. Ryan said he powered through the line."

Comparing his formidable team of juveniles, O'Brien said: "Albert Einstein was always something that we have never seen before. Charles Darwin is a sprinter, and I don't know how far he is going to get, whereas the horse [Gstaad] on Tuesday looked like he would get seven and that means he could get a mile."

Moore added: "Charles Darwin is a very professional horse with a super attitude. He jumped very quick and showed good speed. I was just trying to control him the best I could. They came to me at about the two and a half, so I asked him to go, and he picked up well.

"He is a very good horse. He has a good brain and is a very strong, mature two-year-old, another No Nay Never like the filly yesterday. He is doing everything right and I could not be happier with him. He will get six furlongs."

Paddy Power and Sky Bet both reacted by adding the son of No Nay Never, who is a full-brother to the charismatic Prix Morny and Middle Park Stakes winner Blackbeard, as a 4/1 chance for the Nunthorpe Stakes at York later in the year.

Should Charles Darwin head to York, he would be attempting to become the first two-year-old to win the Group 1 since Kingsgate Native in 2007.

"It would obviously be possible as he's fast, he's big and he's mature," said O'Brien.

"The lads will decide and it's obviously really early days to be talking about that yet, but it would be possible.

"He's obviously a Middle Park Stakes-type of horse and obviously there is the July meeting at Newmarket and Goodwood to come, so there's plenty of races to come."