Papineau is pure Gold for Godolphin in Cup
Questions asked about the stamina of the ex-French four-year-old over the gruelling two-and-a-half-mile trip were answered in style as Frankie Dettori brought the 5-1 winner through with a powerful late run that saw him land the spoils by a length and a half.
Papineau missed the break slightly, along with Brian Boru, as Japanese raider Ingrandire took the initiative in the early stages.
Mr Dinos, the strongly-supported 5-4 favourite, was never far from the pace and Kieren Fallon took up the running entering the home straight as he tried to stretch his rivals from the front.
But, in truth, Mr Dinos was never really going as well as his supporters would have wanted and his rivals were soon queuing up to take him on.
In contrast, French star Westerner was travelling smoothly and swept into the lead at the furlong pole.
But just behind the pace Dettori was weaving his way through the pack and his mount grabbed the race from Westerner in the final 100 yards.
Mark Johnston's Darasim (28-1) finished a heroic third, a further two and a half lengths away, with stablemate Royal Rebel a dual winner of this event - fourth.
In contrast to some of the sport's other leading operations, Godolphin have long seen the near-200-year-old Gold Cup as being more than 'just' a stayers' event.
And Papineau will be bidding to advertise his durability next when he steps back in trip to a mile and a half in the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes at Ascot next month.
In doing so, he will be following the path trod by stablemate Classic Cliche, who finished second in the King George in 1996 after winning this prize.
"I don't think we can say he is a superstar yet," said Godolphin racing manager Simon Crisford. "Not until he wins the King George anyway!
"He is entered in a lot of races over a mile and a half, including the Arc, and even a couple over a mile and a quarter.
"We always knew that stamina might be an issue, but Frankie gave him a great ride.
"He's not a Cup horse, but he had enough class to get by here. And this is a race Sheikh Mohammed has always been keen to support a race full of heritage and tradition and the big race of the week."
Dettori, who was also landing his fourth Gold Cup, was pleased to have been able to find the gaps at the right times for his mount.
"Everything fell right," he said. "Unfortunately I got trapped behind Royal Rebel for a while, when he was on and off the bridle a bit, but five out I got on the tail of Westerner and followed him.
"I knew my horse had a tremendous turn of foot and he picked up like a really good horse. The team said 'Don't go too soon like you did at Sandown'!"
