Rebelline brought the unbeaten record of last year's world champion juvenile Johannesburg to an end in a dramatic finish to the Castlemartin/ La Louviere Gladness Stakes at the Curragh today.
Despite starting at 1-3 and looking all over a winner inside the final furlong, Michael Kinane's mount was caught right on the line and beaten a whisker by the top-weight in the hands of young Declan McDonogh.
Classic plans for Johannesburg are now up in the air with a decision to be made whether to persevere with the original notion of challenging for the Kentucky Derby or go to Newmarket for the Sagitta 2000 Guineas.
"Johannesburg was a bit fresh and over-raced himself early on," said trainer Aidan O'Brien.
"He got tired late, but he was beaten by a good filly which Kevin Prendergast obviously had ready for the race."
Asked whether the Kentucky Derby was still an option for Johannesburg, he replied: "We will have to see how he takes this race, but if we were going to have two runners as we thought, Johannesburg and Castle Gandolfo, which won yesterday in Lingfield, would be the ones."
But O'Brien did not disguise his disappointment that Johannesburg had not extended his unbeaten sequence to eight races in a Group Three contest which, however, has proved a graveyard for favourites and three-year-olds in particular over the years.
He added: "Obviously we were hoping he would win and he came there cantering, but probably got tired in the last 50 yards.
"The race tells you nothing really."
Quizzed whether the horse might have needed the run, O'Brien said: "He has always been a very fast horse and didn't over-blow afterwards, though I suppose it took a real good horse in Giant's Causeway two years ago to stop the rot for favourites in this race."
O'Brien pointed out that last season all his horses had improved for a run or two, and reminded observers that Rebelline had beaten his subsequent dual Classic winner Imagine readily in a Listed race at Leopardstown this time last year.
Rebelline (8-1) may go now for the Prix Ganay at Longchamp, ground permitting, according to an understandably elated Kevin Prendergast.
"Rebelline always goes well fresh and I thought Johannesburg looked ring-rusty before the race," he said. "She had a back problem 10 weeks ago but she would have been an unlucky loser had she not got out in time."
McDonogh was trapped on the rails into the closing stages, switched to the outer and then back onto the rail inside the favourite as she lunged for the line and got there by the minimum margin.
The jockey said later: "Rebelline's stamina came into play in the last half furlong. She was idling a bit early on and I had to give her a tap of the whip to pick up, but she really battled bravely for me to the line and has been a star for us."
Giant's Causeway, a star for Ballydoyle on the international stage, was the first winning favourite in the Gladness Stakes since 1984 when El Gran Senor obliged, so it might be unwise to write off Johannesburg too quickly.