Silver Patriarch can make a winning return to action in the Sagitta Jockey Club Stakes at Newmarket today. Following the retirement of Epsom Derby winner Benny The Dip and Arc de Triomphe hero Peintre Celebre, John Dunlop's grey now has pretensions of being the best middle-distance horse in Europe.

And his connections' sporting decision to keep him in training can bear its first fruit in the Group Two contest over a mile and a half.

Silver Patriarch ran a creditable first race of the season in 1997 when finishing third to Voyageurs Quest in the Thresher Classic Trial at Sandown 12 months ago, separated by a head from second-placed Benny The Dip.

The son of Saddlers' Hall then took the Lingfield Derby Trial in emphatic style before going to Epsom, where his defeat must have choked even experienced men like Dunlop and his big-race jockey Pat Eddery.

During the early stages Eddery's mount was unable to lie up with the pace, being pushed along towards the rear on the run to Tattenham Corner.

But once finding a stride in the straight, Silver Patriarch relentlessly gathered in Benny The Dip.