was then made favourite for the Tattersalls Gold Cup, which had been promoted to Group One level, but after taking the lead in the straight, he was overtaken in the closing stages and beaten two and a half lengths by the Japanese-bred filly Shiva. Summer It was from this point on that, Daylami (ridden in all his remaining races by Dettori) showed his best form. At Epsom he was third choice in the betting for the Coronation Cup behind Royal Anthem and the 1998 European Horse of the Year Dream Well, but produced a sustained run in the last quarter-mile to beat those rivals by three quarters of a length and half a length. This was Daylami's first win over a mile and a half, but the lack of early pace and slow time of 2:40.26 meant that the race did not conclusively prove his stamina. He had been expected to run in the Eclipse Stakes but was withdrawn from the race when his trainer decided that Daylami "needed more time". He continued to attract attention however, when beating the Group One winner Central Park by eight lengths in a "sparkling" exercise trial. In July, he was an easy and "impressive" winner of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, taking the lead over a furlong out and pulling away to win by five lengths. Although Daylami's connections were pleased, with Dettori talking enthusiastically about the "ultimate champion", some observers, including the Independent's correspondent, were less convinced, pointing out that the field for the King George had been well below its usual standard. Autumn Daylami ran next in the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown in which he produced what was probably his best performance. Despite his win at Ascot, Daylami started only second favourite behind Royal Anthem, who had recently won the Group One International Stakes at York by eight lengths. The two horses so dominated the build-up to the race that one prominent bookmaker announced that they would treat the race as a match for betting purposes. After tracking the leaders in the early stages, Daylami moved through "easily" on the inside to take the lead in the straight and drew right away to win by nine lengths from the filly Dazzling Park, with Dream Well third and Royal Anthem fifth. His performance was given a figure of 136 by the official handicapper, the third highest recorded in