Mawj (9/1) won Sunday's Qipco 1000 Guineas at Newmarket, scoring by half a length from Tahiyra, the 6/4 favourite. The pair finished well clear of Kieran Cotter's Matilda Picotte, who made the running and held on bravely for third.

It was a fourth win in the race for owner Godolphin, a third for trainer Saeed bin Suroor and a first for jockey Oisin Murphy.

Winning jockey Oisin Murphy told ITV Racing: “She’s a champion. Thanks very much to Saeed and to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed for the opportunity.

“She was very tough. It was a brilliant training performance. He (Saeed) has been exceptional and so good to me for 10 years. He’s had lots of superstar horses.”

Asked how he felt to be walking back into the winner’s enclosure after a classic, Murphy added: “There’s nothing better. I was second in the race yesterday (2000 Guineas) so to win this is unbelievable."

Speaking to racecourse TV, Murphy added: "I was able to do what I want and trust my instincts. I basically went in a straight line as Frankie did yesterday on Chaldean and didn’t complicate it and she answered every call.

“I think you saw two top class fillies – they pulled so far clear of the rest of the field and I had the perfect partner. She travelled and picked up and finished and she even walked back in like a champion. There was no jig-jogging and she posed for all the photos.”

Mawj ran twice at Meydan in Dubai in January and February but this was her first appearance in the UK since finishing third at Newmarket’s Rowley Mile in the Group 1 Juddmonte Cheveley Park Stakes last September.

Murphy added: “She went over there (Dubai) for two runs and two wins and she obviously came back in super condition. The word from Saeed bin Suroor was that she couldn’t have been in better shape and fortunately I was the one to partner her.

“I was so lucky to win on Kameko here in the 2000 Guineas during Covid but unfortunately everyone was watching from home so there wasn’t the same buzz that I felt today.

"To win another one is great and I’ll be trying to win as many as I can, particularly with Frankie saying he’s retiring - but he may not retire, we’ll have to wait and see!”

Winning trainer Saeed bin Suroor said: “I think this my 195th Group 1 winner around the world. The filly had been doing good before the race. She is a tiny filly but she has a big heart. She is a Group 2 winner and is unbeaten in Dubai. I talked to Sheikh Mohammed before we ran her in Dubai over a mile as what you see in her pedigree, being by Exceed And Excel, there is plenty of speed, but we tried her over the mile and she won it well in Dubai. I talked to Sheikh Mohammed before we declared her and he agreed to run her. It was a great decision from him and the filly has won well so we are happy with her.

“Charlie (Appleby) and myself are a good team. He worked for me for a long time and he has become one of the best trainers now. We are good friends. We will keep the options open as I want to see how she comes back after the race but she is entered in the French Guineas, but that is too close, and she is also in the Irish Guineas. We will talk to Sheikh Mohammed and make a decision in a week or two.

“It means a lot as it has been a long time since we won a classic race in England. It means a lot to myself, Godolphin and the sport also. It has taken us a long time to win another 1000 Guineas. When we started we had very good horses in those days but recently things have been slow with the quality of horses but luckily when I saw this filly start to work, despite her being tiny, she showed her class.

“We ran her in group races last year and she managed to win one in England then we stepped her up to a mile in Dubai and she won the Jumeirah Fillies Guineas well.

“We talked to Sheikh Mohammed and he let her run in the Guineas today and Oisin gave her a good ride. She has a big heart and I thought she was going to win when they were close.

“I thought she would do well as her last two pieces of work here in Newmarket were brilliant.

“It is a great boost for the stable and everybody at the yard will be really happy.”