Francis Of Assisi failed to land a blow when well beaten in Saturday's Group III Rose Of Lancaster Stakes (1m 2 1/2f) at Haydock.
Racing for the first time since winning the Group III Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Flemington by 10 lengths last November, the Charlie Appleby-trained Francis Of Assisi was ridden near the speed but came under pressure three furlongs out before weakening into eighth place, beaten 10 3/4-lengths.
The Mark Johnston-trained Frankuus (8/1) made all the running and stayed on strongly to beat Mount Logan (6/1) by three-quarters of a length with the 2/1 favourite Laraaib a further 5 3/4-lengths away third.
Johnston told the Sporting Life he had been unsure about the three-year-old son of Frankel.
"I thought he was a little bit stuck between two stools in that he wasn't quite top class, but he was too high for handicaps," Johnston said.
"He's been running good races, but last time was definitely his best run of the season. On paper he had a bit to find today, but we knew he liked the track - he won here last year - and he had conditions in his favour.
"He does handle cut in the ground. All horses like good ground, but not all appreciate some give.
"I will have to go back and think about what to do next, but it would be nice to get another Group win out of him because its been frustrating for his owners."
