AIDAN O’Brien’s record-breaking achievements are covered in full elsewhere, but no review of the British season is complete with genuflecting before the Ballydoyle maestro, and it is remarkable how complete his domination of the juvenile pattern is. That fact, allied to his ability to gain top-level success with horses, particularly fillies, who seem thoroughly exposed is something which sets him apart from any other trainer of the modern era.

The Middle Park Stakes illustrates the first point, with U S Navy Flag beating stable companion Fleet Review to gain a belated Group 1 win, despite the fact that his first seven races had yielded nothing more than a maiden success. The consensus was that the winner had taken advantage of the failure of several rivals to show their best form, and the race was filed under ‘substandard’, which was understandable given they finished in something of a heap behind the first two.