Red-hot favourite Estrange was made to pull out all the stops to see off Scenic in a thrilling renewal of the bet365 Lancashire Oaks at Haydock.

The David O’Meara-trained Estrange had made a huge impression when landing the Group Three Lester Piggott Stakes over the course and distance in late May, with targets as lofty as the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe being mentioned in the aftermath.

Carrying the colours of Cheveley Park Stud, the grey was a 2-7 favourite to follow up at Group Two level and while she managed to get the job done in the hands of Danny Tudhope, her supporters were made to sweat.

O’Meara told Racing TV: “Danny was caught in a position where the leader (Love Talk) went off and it’s a question of when do you go after them.

“Danny said she normally falls asleep in her races, but today she was trying to chase the leader a bit and didn’t quite drop the bit and ended up in front then a long time. It isn’t really how we’d like to play her, but it was a means to an end I guess.

“She’s four from five now and she’s won her Group Two today, so it’s brilliant.”

Just four runners went to post for the Merseyside feature, with rank outsider Love Talk taking the quartet along for much of the mile-and-a-half journey before Estrange was coaxed into the lead approaching the final two furlongs.

However, James Doyle covered the move aboard Ed Walker’s Scenic and following a final furlong tussle, Estrange found just enough to win the argument by a neck.

While the victory was harder work than many expected, Paddy Power reacted by cutting the winner’s Arc odds to 12-1 from 20-1.

“We were hoping we wouldn’t turn up on good to firm so the drop of rain helped. I don’t think she’s absolutely reliant on heavy ground or anything like that, she just doesn’t want to be running on very quick ground,” O’Meara added.

“The Yorkshire Oaks would be the next target and we’ve got five or six weeks until York.

“She’s very relaxed, she’s unbelievable. Today she wasn’t as relaxed as she normally is because of the way the race developed, but it’s fine.”

Five weeks on from her scintillating seasonal debut on Merseyside, Estrange returns to Haydock for the bet365 Lancashire Oaks on Saturday.

A brilliant winner on her Goodwood introduction last summer, David O’Meara’s filly failed to fire in a Listed event at Yarmouth next time but bounced back in some style at Doncaster in November.

The Cheveley Park Stud-owned four-year-old was not even favourite for her reappearance in the Group Three Lester Piggott Stakes at the end of May, but breezed clear of her rivals in impressive fashion.

“We were heading to Haydock the last day with quite a bit of hope – we thought she was very good based on her homework,” said O’Meara.

“I thought she would see out a mile and a half and it made for pretty easy watching. She lobbed along and it was apparent in the straight, when a lot of the other fillies were coming under pressure, that when Danny (Tudhope) eased her out she looked like she was just doing a half-speed.

“It was a great sense of relief when she won as so much can go wrong in races and sometimes horses don’t live up to what we think of them, but she certainly lived up to expectations.

“The ease with which she won did take me a bit by surprise, but we did expect her to put up a good show.”

Connections have made no secret of the regard in which Estrange is held, with targets as lofty as the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe being mooted.

O’Meara added: “Amazing Maria was brilliant for us then we also had G Force, while Mondialiste gave me great satisfaction when we took him to Canada and he won the Woodbine Mile.

“Far more of those good horses end up in other yards, so we are very aware that we are very fortunate to have Estrange in the yard and Cheveley Park Stud have always been very supportive to us.”

Chief among Estrange’s rivals in Saturday’s Group Two feature is Ed Walker’s Scenic, winner of the Group Three Bronte Cup at York on her most recent outing and subsequently recruited by the powerful Wathnan Racing team.

Walker said: “It’s a small field and fingers crossed it should be a good opportunity for her.

“Her plan since last year has been the Bronte, the Lancashire Oaks and the Yorkshire Oaks. That was always the plan and we’re still well on track.”