After an absence of eleven months Phoenix Tower returned to the track and was moved up in class and distance to contest the Group 3 Earl of Sefton Stakes over nine furlongs at Newmarket Racecourse on 17 April 2008. Ridden by Tom Queally he started the 8/1 third choice in the betting behind Pipedreamer (Cambridgeshire Handicap) and the Cecil's other entrant Multidimensional (Prix Guillaume d'Ornano). He tracked the front-running Kandidate and after briefly looking unlikely to get a clear run he produced a strong finish to gain the advantage in the final strides and win by a head and a neck from Traffic Guard and Pipedreamer. After the race Henry Cecil said "he has always been a good horse but he has had his problems. He stays further and I think a mile and a quarter will suit him".
