WHAT a training performance by Francis Graffard on Saturday, when he posted yet another European Group 1 success to his burgeoning curriculum vitae.

The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes is a jewel in the crown of British racing, and Ascot’s centrepiece was won in scintillating fashion by the four-year-old gelding Goliath. The son of Adlerflug (In The Wings) will not be able to compete in the Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, thanks to undergoing castration, but he will surely be a feature now in many of the world’s best races open to geldings.