ROGER Varian’s Postponed, quite possibly the best middle-distance horse in the world, shrugged off the setback which cost him his place in the King George at Ascot and ran out a worthy winner of the Group 1 Juddmonte International when the York Ebor Meeting opened on Wednesday.

Ridden with considerable confidence by Andrea Atzeni, the 15/8 favourite tracked the leaders, headed by his pacemaker King Bolete, and was sent on with three furlongs to travel. That may have worried his supporters, especially with King George hero Highland Reel and Seamie Heffernan chasing hard, but Postponed galloped on strongly, despite edging right, to hold that rival by a length and a quarter.