EMPEROR Of The Sun thrust himself into the reckoning for the Ascot Gold Cup with a commanding success over some of best stayers in the country in the Listed Savel Beg Levmoss Stakes at Leopardstown on Friday.

This mile-and-three-quarters event provided Donnacha O’Brien with his first stakes race success as a rider back in 2015 and the young trainer can now look forward to tackling the best in the staying division after this four-year-old posted a career high under Gavin Ryan. Emperor Of The Sun had plenty to do on ratings in a race which featured the dual St Leger winner Search For A Song and the Melbourne Cup hero Twilight Payment and was sent off a relatively unconsidered 18/1 chance.