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Ryan Moore confirmed his reputation as the world's top big-race jockey with victory on Marco Botti's Knife Edge in the German 2,000 Guineas at Cologne on Monday, following his success at Deauville on Sunday in the French equivalent with The Gurkha.

Both colts are Coolmore-owned, but while The Gurkha scored comfortably, Knife Edge only got home by a nose in a pulsating finish.

With nobody seeming to want to make the pace, Moore soon had Knife Edge in pole position and led the field, still well bunched up, into the straight, where Noor Al Hawa, in owner Jaber Abdullah's first colours, seemed the main danger with a strong challenge at the two furlong marker.

However Knife Edge kept out pulling out more and had seen him off by the distance, when Degas, owned by the race sponsors, could be seen coming with a late charge on the outside and was fastest of all in the final stages. He drew almost level, but Knife Edge was not stopping and the photo showed a narrow but clear margin of a nose.

Knife Edge was Botti's second winner of the race, after Excelebration in 2011, and he said: "I like it here in Cologne! We were hoping somebody would give us a good lead, but I gave Ryan the option of going on if nobody else wanted to, and that is what happened."

Moore added: "He was only idling in the straight and kept on finding more. He is a very nice horse, a big scopey sort and I think he is capable of a great deal of improvement."

Regarding the future plans, Botti confirmed that Knife Edge is entered in the St. James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot, but added "it is up to the owners to decide which way to go now."