Hugo Palmer will begin to hatch an ambitious plan to run Seagulls Eleven in the valuable Golden Eagle at Rosehill in November following his success in the Thoroughbred Stakes at Glorious Goodwood.
With Charlie Appleby responsible for withdrawing both the early market leader Opera Ballo and Spectacular View, just a field of four headed to post for the Group 3 prize.
There was little to separate the quartet in the betting and the same proved to be the case on the track, as all four held some form of a chance as the field moved on down towards the two-furlong marker.
Whilst Cosmic Year could be spotted travelling sweetly in behind the leaders and King Of Cities was attempting to make his challenge down the middle of the track, Seagulls Eleven, who was always towards the front end under Murphy, continued to find for pressure at the head of affairs.
Cosmic Year's chances quickly came to an end when the gaps failed to appear for Colin Keane against the rail, and although Diego Ventura stuck on strongly to press Seagulls Eleven in the closing stages, Hugo Palmer's recently gelded three-year-old found plenty late on to fend off the challenge by three parts of a length.
"I've just about recovered from his dad getting beat in the Sussex Stakes!" said Palmer, who's 2000 Guineas hero Galileo Gold was narrowly denied by The Gurkha in the Sussex Stakes in 2016.
"We probably over-faced him a bit last year and he danced some pretty big dances.
"He's a very generous horse and they weren't getting past him. He's quite a handful and not an easy horse to train – gelding him has made a bit of difference."
The son of Galileo Gold, who was placed in the Superlative Stakes and National Stakes as a two-year-old, now looks set for a trip Down Under, with Palmer eyeing the valuable Golden Eagle at Rosehill later in the season.
He said: "He has taken us all around the world and I don't think we are done yet. The Golden Eagle in Sydney has already been mentioned and why not? It's a $10m dollar race. Where can you say that in England?
"We were worried about him going to the Breeders' Cup last year because he is a handful, but he took it very well. So why not.
"I think he goes on any ground. He ran well first time out on soft ground, and he's won on fast ground, but I think he is genuinely versatile.
"The lovely thing about geldings and fillies is that unlike a colt, you can't really devalue them. Whereas gelding and fillies, you can dust yourself down and go again."
Seagulls Eleven carries the colours of the Two Plus Three Two Plus Four partnership, who are formed of a number of current and ex Brighton and Hove Albion players.
"It actually all started at Cheltenham. There was a mare called Mrs Milner and Michael [Owen] suggested to James Milner that he back it. He did and it went from there," explained Owen.
"They have bought a few horses and James is the ringleader. There are 11 players, who aren't all at Brighton anymore – sadly, half a dozen of them were here yesterday but I think they are in Poland today."
On what the immediate future may hold for Seagulls Eleven, Palmer is keen to keep options open before delving into his long-term plan.
He said: "Maybe we'll have one more run [in the UK before Australia]. We could talk about supplementing for the City Of York or maybe the Celebration Mile back here. I haven't really thought about it."
