Aidan O'Brien's National Guard finished off best of all to land the rated race in Killarney by half a length.

He was ridden in third with a furlong to race as Equitant swept into the lead. Sky Seven split the pair in second but it was National Guard who knuckled down to his task to get on terms with Equitant in the final 100 yards.

The 5/1 co favourite found that bit more in the closing stages to prevail from the 7/1 runner-up.

Equitant had been popular in morning trading as his price halved from 7/1 to 7/2 but it was a different story at the track.

Sky Seven, another 5/1 co favourite, couldn't sustain his challenge deep in the final furlong and finished third, a further three quarters of a length away.

Jockey Seamie Heffernan said: "He is (rated) 84 on the page but is showing us that he is more than an 84 horse. He is a lot stronger than than on his work."

Additional reporting by Tom Weekes