Charles Darwin enhanced his already lofty reputation with a dominant front-running victory in the Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot.

A full-brother to a top-class two-year-old in Blackbeard, the imposing Aidan O’Brien-trained son of No Nay Never finished fourth on his Curragh debut but had since impressed with victories at Navan and Naas.

Those who sent him off at odds of 8/13 will have had few concerns, with Charles Darwin soon bowling along in front under Ryan Moore, finding plenty once challenged and going away at the line to readily account for Wise Approach and Sandal’s Song.

“He’s a big, powerful, strong horse and very quick," remarked Aidan O'Brien, before adding, "He’s a very fast horse; he’s big, mature physically and in his mind as well, so he’s very exciting. We were actually hoping he would get a lead - he’s very quick and he’d be happy to get a lead. Ryan obviously does his own thing always; when the gates open, he decides, and he was very happy with him. He said he powered to the line. We couldn’t be happier, really.

“Albert Einstein is always just something like we’ve never seen before, the way he works. This horse is very fast - he’s a sprinter, I don’t know how far he’s going to get, because he’s very quick, and the horse yesterday [Gstaad] looks like he’s going to get seven, which means he could get a mile.

“He’s lovely. Ryan has always loved him; everyone loves him at home. He’s a big, powerful strong horse - really he looks like a four-year-old racing against two-year-olds.”

The winning jockey said: "Very professional horse, super attitude. He jumped very quick, showed good speed, I was just trying to control him the best I could. They came to me about the two and a half and I asked him to go and he picked up well. Very good horse. He's got a good brain, he's obviously a very mature, very strong two-year-old; another No Nay Never like the filly yesterday. He's doing everything right, doing everything really lovely, couldn't be happier with him really. He'll get six."