THOUGH he was a Royal Ascot winner and successful in the £500,000 Ebor Handicap at York this year, Ethical Diamond headed to the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar having three wins on the flat and a single success over hurdles to his credit. None of these, or his placed runs, were in blacktype races.

While he had managed to win back all of his 320,000gns purchase price with those wins, the enormity of his achievement in taking home more than £2 million after his victory on Saturday cannot be emphasised enough. The impact of his victory and the manner in which it was achieved, in a new course record time, says so much about the genius that is Willie Mullins.