A doctor who specialises in muscle disorders once told me this is probably because the glycogen that fuels the fast twitch muscles used in sprinting builds up during rest periods.

Hamza (41) is a good example of this. He ran close in the Prix de L’Abbaye and the valuable Al Quoz Sprint on his two starts prior to taking the Abernant Stakes last week. However, he seems to reserve his very best efforts for his second run off a lay-off of six weeks or more. Since his two-year-old days he’s won four of the five times he’s run in these circumstances and finished second in his sole loss. He’s won just one of his other 15 other starts since his juvenile season.