WHAT a way to win your first Group 1, and in the process post a fine advertisement for the current classic crop. Having disappointed in the Derby at Epsom, the Aidan O’Brien-trained Delacroix bounced back in the best way possible with his ‘from the clouds’ win in the Eclipse Stakes from Ombudsman, adding to three prior successes at Group 3 level.

Named after a French painter, last year Delacroix raced five times in three months. Connections must have hated the sight of a Jessica Harrington-trained opponent. Runner-up to her Green Impact in a Leopardstown maiden, Delacroix was again second to that colt on Irish Champions Weekend in the Group 2 Golden Fleece Stakes, having won a Curragh maiden in the meanwhile. A game victory in the Group 3 Autumn Stakes at Newmarket set him up for Doncaster’s Group 1 Futurity, but he was denied a nose by the Harrington-trained Hotazhell.