Toocoolforschool produced an astonishing performance to destroy his rivals by seven lengths in the Group 2 Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef Stakes this afternoon for trainer Karl Burke.

Silvestre de Sousa sent the 4/1 shot to the front straight from the gates and never saw another rival, with Brian Meehan’s Growl finishing a distant second.

This was the son of Showcasing’s fifth career start after showing some really decent form at Doncaster and York on his last two outings.

Burke was understandably delighted, saying: “He won very, very well. The ground was probably a factor, but we didn’t know he would handle it, and the cheekpieces have also helped.

“He’s always been a horse with lots of ability, but I’ve just wondered if he’s been saving a bit for himself,” said the Middleham-based trainer. “There was plenty of interest in him after he finished second in the Acomb and I imagine the phone will be busy over the next few days.”

“The new sprinting programme next year looks perfect for him, but the owners might want to sell him. Money talks!” said Burke.

The Dubai Duty Free Legacy Cup went to Sir Michael Stoute and Ryan Moore when the 11/4 favourite Hillstar proved too strong for his rivals. It was a first win of the season for the four-year-old son of Danehill Dancer after a frustrating run of four straight second place finishes.

Stoute nominated the Canadian International at Woodbine next month as a possible target for the Sir Evelyn De Rothschild-owned colt.

“He’s a very consistent, honest and tough horse,” said Stoute. “He has chilled out as he has got older and I wasn’t worried at all about the ground. He goes on any ground, he just got outstayed by Brown Panther in the Ormonde. The Canadian International could be next.”

There was another dominant performance in the Dubai Duty Free Handicap when the winning distance of 3 ¾ lengths did absolutely no justice to the dominance of 9/2 joint-favourite Air Pilot.

This was only the fifth race of the five-year-old’s career and Ralph Beckett’s runner clearly loved the testing conditions. He had previously finished an excellent second to Farraaj at Epsom on Derby day and jockey Oisin Murphy never had a moment’s worry.

Michael Dods pulled off another successful raid for the north with Mecca’s Angel landing her first Group race in the Dubai International Airport World Trophy.

The three-year-old daughter of Dark Angel returned the 13/8 favourite under Paul Mulrennan, comfortably holding off the challenge of Justice Day. She is clearly a very useful prospect for a trainer who has had many decent sprinters over the years.