Battaash smashed his own track record as he won the King George Qatar Stakes for the fourth successive year at Goodwood.

Charlie Hills’ brilliant sprinter lowered the record five-furlong time he himself had previously set, scorching the turf on a sizzling hot day on the Sussex Downs to pass the post in under 56 seconds for the first time.

The 2/7 favourite and his jockey Jim Crowley were already in front at the halfway point and surged clear to win by two and a quarter lengths from Glass Slippers – in 55.62 seconds, compared to the previous-best 56.20. Ornate was just another neck away in third, at 100-1.

Trainer Charlie Hills said: "Battaash is so talented and we are very proud to have a horse like him in the yard.

"He is a six-year-old now and racing is so lucky to have six-year-olds like Battaash, Enable and Stradivarius still doing their stuff.

"Just to be involved in a horse like him just means everything really. He has broken his own track record. It is brilliant. Four consecutive Group 2s takes some doing and I am just so proud of him.

"Battaash is not the biggest horse in the world, but he is well-balanced and a true athlete really.

"He might only have two more runs this year and for a six-year-old, he is lightly-raced really.

"We are looking forward to the Nunthorpe now. We'll get that hurdle done and then look at the Abbaye probably. Who knows what is going to happen, it is a strange year and no-one really knows what the future holds. We'll keep going until he tells us he is not what he is today.