Alphonse Le Grande became only the second dual winner of the Cesarewitch at Newmarket on Saturday.

Trained by Tony Martin, the 18/1 shot won the race in controversial circumstances in 2024 and it was a close-run thing today as well, the seven-year-old coming out on the right side of a photo-finish under Donegal jockey Patrick McGettigan.

Alphonse Le Grande stayed on strongly in the final furlong to defeat 4/1 favourite Sea Lantern by a short-head with the well-supported Dawn Rising (6/1) another length and a quarter back in third.

Tony Martin said: “Patrick (McGettigan, the winning jockey) came and sat on him in the week. He hadn’t ridden for me before, but we had a good chat about the horse and for a lad of his age (17) and a 5lb claimer, I thought he really shone today. He had the patience and the balls to sit and wait for as long as he did.

“I shouldn’t really have run him at the Curragh two weeks ago but he’s a tough horse and bounced back. He’s only small, like a pony really, but has a big heart and is full of guts.”

Tony Martin was serving a suspension two years ago when Alphonse Le Grande won the Cesarewitch by a nose. His sister Cathy held the licence.

A few days later the horse was disqualified because his jockey Jamie Powell was deemed to have broken the whip rules. However, connections lodged an appeal and Alphonse Le Grande was reinstated as the winner.