Borderlescott successfully defended his title in the $396,000 Nunthorpe Stakes at York on Friday with a game neck score over Benbaun in the five-furlong, Group 1 sprint. Trained in nearby Wetherby by Robin Bastiman, Borderlescott rewarded his faithful local backers to the tune of 9-1 as he upset all of the powerful yards from the south of England for the second successive year. Taking advantage of a fast pace on good to firm ground, Borderlescott , a gelded 7-year-old son of Compton Place, was always close up, leading just inside the furlong pole under Neil Callan, who was riding him for the first time. The 25-1 Benbaun, ridden by Joe Fanning in a late jockey change for no-show Johnny Murtagh, did everything but win as he chased Borderlescott home. The 2-year-old Radiohead was up for third, 1 1/4 lengths behind Benbaun, while the 5-2 favorite, Kingsgate Native, was a one-paced sixth, beaten 2 3/4 lengths in all. The winning time was 57.50 seconds. Borderlescott had won a pair of listed races in the past year, one on the Dundalk Polytrack and another around the tight turns of Chester, but had been only fourth behind Kingsgate Native in the Group 3 King George Stakes at Goodwood last time. Trainer Kevin Ryan will send Benbaun to Paris on Arc Day, Oct. 4, for the Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp, a race he won two years ago, and Borderlescott may well take the same route, as he was third in that race last year. Radiohead, who had won the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot, will step up to six furlongs in a return to juvenile company in the the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket on Oct. 2