OCEAN Atlantique made headlines ever before he set foot on a racecourse. The three-year-old son of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah (Pioneerof The Nile) was bought by Brendan Holland’s Grove Stud as a yearling for $275,000, with the aim of breezing him.

This was done with great aplomb, and when he appeared at the Arqana Sale last year he sold to the Coolmore group for €1.1 million.