A NEW arrival at the National Stud in Newmarket this spring is Flag Of Honour, a son of Galileo whose principal victory was in the Group 1 Irish St Leger of 2018, defeating the Irish Derby hero Latrobe by almost three lengths. He had already won a group race as a two-year-old and in his next season he was the joint second best three-year-old stayer in Europe, after Kew Gardens, rated on 123 by Timeform. The National Stud is asking a very reasonable fee of only £4,500 for the services of this high-class stayer.

Flag Of Honour has a top-class pedigree and he was quickly into his stride as a two-year-old, scoring at Naas in September, before adding the Group 3 Eyrefield Stakes at Leopardstown by a length and a half from Giuseppe Garibaldi. Trained by Aidan O’Brien, he began his three-year-old campaign in France, beaten only half a length when third in the Group 3 Prix Noailles at Longchamp, but then he landed the Group 2 Curragh Cup in July and the Group 3 Irish St Leger Trial Stakes in August, before his victory over Latrobe in the Irish St Leger in September, when he led all the way to become only the second three-year-old to win that classic this century.