Great Barrier Reef (6/1) maintained his unbeaten record with a tenacious victory in the Group 2 Coventry Stakes, handing trainer Aidan O’Brien a 12th win in the six-furlong highlight for two-year-olds.

The No Nay Never colt had been partnered by Ryan Moore in both previous wins, but Moore opted to partner stablemate Confucius, resulting in that runner going off 2/1 favourite.

Ridden this time by Wayne Lordan, Great Barrier Reef challenged down the centre of the track as the action unfolded towards the stands’ rail.

Eight horses were in contention inside the final furlong, with Great Barrier Reef finishing best to beat Adaay Of Scarlett (40/1) by half a length. Royal Heritage (12/1) was a neck further back in third.

O’Brien said: “Great Barrier Reef is obviously not a home worker and, even before he won the last day, we were a little bit disappointed with his work. But he's clearly better on the track, although we've always liked him.

“He went there with a very live chance – he is an unbeaten horse and has always shown ability. We thought he was very good when he won first time, I think by five or six lengths, and then he was still green last time but won a good race. We worked him last week and Ryan's horse [Confucius] came out the better of the two, so we thought he was the horse.

“Wayne gave him a lovely ride. He said he was finishing off very well, while Ryan felt they went plenty hard on his side. From where he was drawn, Ryan got sucked into it and had to keep going. Wayne was in the other group on the far side and they were finishing well because the near-side group had gone so hard, perhaps.

“Great Barrier Reef handles different types of ground. He is a lovely straightforward horse and I think he'll get further than six furlongs as well.”

Lordan said: “When Great Barrier Reef started to roll forward with me, he was probably drifting a little bit left looking for a bit of company – because I was out there on my own. But I always knew he was running on, so I thought I had every chance.

“Because of where I was, I thought David Egan was probably the only pace I had to follow and I just wanted to keep it simple and follow him. From halfway I started to make my move and he kept picking up all the way to the line. He feels like he hit the line well enough to step up in trip.

“Any time you come here for rides you're happy, and particularly to get a winner on your first ride of the meeting – the rest can only be better.”