THIS is proving to be a year and some for Montassib, the Shadwell-bred, six-year-old gelded son of Exceed And Excel (Danehill). Incredibly, given Shadwell’s connections to this family going back generations, they don’t own the best winner in it.

Starting out the year as the winner of five races, Montassib had no blacktype to his credit. Now, in four outings this season, he is a triple stakes winner, landing the Listed Cammidge Trophy at Doncaster, the Group 3 Chipchase Stakes at Newcastle, and now a headline success in the Group 1 Haydock Park Sprint Cup.