THERE was understandably some consternation when Adayar, Hukum and Westover departed Europe to start their stud careers in Japan. Even allowing for the fact that in the case of Westover it was simply a case of the horse being sold, what does the future of a breeding nation look like if the winners of six Group 1 races between them can’t be retained for stud?

We all know the answer. Middle-distance horses, especially later-maturing ones, are a hard sell in this part of the world against a group-winning two-year-old. By contrast, mile-and-a-half horses, even proper stayers, are embraced by the Japanese market, as long as they possess a turn of foot.