Six Perfections had suffered a nightmare passage when beaten into second place in the British version earlier this month and Thierry Thulliez, who had been on board at Newmarket, was replaced by local ace Murtagh.

But once again the 30-100 chance was out of luck as she found herself trapped on the far rail, and after the race her jockey came in for a deal of criticism.

“The thing about racing is that you are a hero one minute and you’re a villain the next,” Murtagh told Channel 4 attheraces.

Explaining his tactics, he went on: “My instructions were ‘don’t hit the front too soon – she has a good turn of foot’, so I decided to follow Mick Kinane (on Yesterday). He was the main danger.

“I’m in a tricky position following Mick. There’s not much pace on, Mick just cops me with about a furlong and a half to go and delays his run for 50 to 100 yards, and that’s just good jockeyship on his part.

“By the time I got out – I read in the papers I had five lengths to make up, but I’d have to disagree with that – I think I had a length and a half to make up with 200 yards to go.

“When I pulled her out I thought with her turn of foot she would pick up and I thought even at half a furlong she would.

“The winner has stayed well and Mick gave her a great ride. It was a bit of hard luck on Six Perfections.”

He added: “I had a beautiful position all the way. Some days it opens up for you and it’s great Johnny, great ride, other days it doesn’t open up, and it didn’t open up.

“She’s a very easy ride and when I pulled her out to pick up I thought I was going to get there, but the winning line came just in time.

“Some days you have luck and some days you don’t and she missed out by a short head.

“If I had to do it again I wouldn’t do it any different, but I’d hope they went a fairer gallop and the horses got spread out.

“I was going well two out and all I needed was half a gap and I would have been there, but it never came.”