OF all the pattern races held around Europe in the past 10 days one performance arguably stands out as being the most exciting. It is not just what the horse achieved on the afternoon in question, which appears to have been an excellent effort, but it is the promise that the victory holds for the future.

Some classic trials attract fields of mixed or debatable quality, but the recent Group 2 Betfred Dante Stakes at York was dubbed by some as a ‘mini Derby’, such was the apparent strength of the small but select line-up.