Levey makes history as Hannon claims another shock Guineas winner

Four years later - on a much grander stage - the jockey gave him his greatest upset, as a 66-1 shot stunned punters and even her own connections to win the Qipco 1000 Guineas, part of the British Champions Series.

It was a remarkable result on every level. Hannon's only previous classic victory was in the 2000 Guineas in 2014, when Night of Thunder pulled off a 40-1 shock at Newmarket.

But Billesdon Brook's storming win made her the longest-priced runner to land the fillies classic in 210 years.

And Levey, a hard-working 30-year old journeyman with 267 career successes, becomes the first black jockey to win a British classic race.

"I've been working a long time to get to this moment and I'm just glad it's finally come," said Levey, who was born in Swaziland to an Irish father, a former jockey, and a Swazi mother.

"I didn't expect it here but it feels great. I thought she deserved the chance to be here and run well but to win it the way she did, it wasn't one of my expectations.

"I've been riding quite a while now. I've always had great support and always rode loads of winners. I've been competitive in a load of good races but I've just never seemed to be able to find that good one."

But Billesdon Brook - nine back with three furlongs to go - hit the accelerator to cruise through the field in a matter of strides, leading home bigger fancies in some style.

Hannon enjoyed every moment of the spotlight, while admitting his charge had not been entered for Royal Ascot's Coronation Stakes, a race connections will surely stump up a fee to supplement her in with a share of their £310,500 prize money.

"Sean is a great guy, he is there every day and this is a very important moment for him," said Hannon, who guided Sky Lantern to victory in the 1000 Guineas five years ago when still assistant to his father.

"You are not defined by how many winners you have but the good ones and classic winners and he is a classic winning jockey now.

"It was a surprise to me but there was nothing flukey about it, even if I didn't see this coming."

O'Brien jetted into Newmarket to watch his challenge after Mendelssohn's failed bid in the Kentucky Derby just a few hours earlier.

But the Champion Trainer is good at rolling with the punches and resetting his sights and all talk was about Saxon Warrior's victory in the 2000 Guineas the previous day.

And O'Brien has even raised the possibility of a Triple Crown bid, a flat racing feat not achieved since Nijinsky in 1970.

Saxon Warrior will now be primed at the Derby - where he'll seek to emulate Camelot, who won both the 2000 Guineas and the world's greatest flat race for O'Brien in 2012.

And then all roads would lead to Doncaster and the oldest Classic of them all, the St Leger.

"The Triple Crown has to be on our minds, if he wins the Derby that would be the obvious thing," he said. "The owners always had it in their heads he would go for the Guineas and Derby."

Sportsbeat 2018