Pether's Moon will head to Dubai for a possible crack at the Sheema Classic after landing the five-runner BMW Cumberland Lodge Stakes in rain-softened ground at Ascot.
The four-year-old can idle when he hits the front, but Pat Dobbs played his hand to perfection as the Richard Hannon-trained four-year-old landed the Group Three prize in good style, fending off the fast-finishing Parish Hall by cosy neck.
It was Pether's Moon's third win in four starts, and owner John Manley said of his 9- winner: "He won (the Coutts Glorious Stakes) at Glorious Goodwood, we went to Turkey and won the (Group Two) Bosphorus Cup, for big prize money of course (£150,000), which is always worth hunting for.
"Today, we gave most of them 5lb and a sound beating, and Parish Hall 2lb – and he's a good horse.
"He looked very good here and now we'll look at the Sheema Classic. It is not set in stone, but that's what we are thinking."
After watching the mile-and-a-half event from Newmarket, Hannon added: "He appears to be getting better with age. He travelled very, very well.
"It was very soft in Turkey when he won and he did the same there – travelled lovely, and when he got to the front he stopped, so he's getting quite clever."
