THE Group 1 Prix d’Ispahan demolition by A Shin Hikari has to be one of the performances of the year and entitles the five-year-old entire to be ranked with the best runners in the world. He will now go to Royal Ascot as one of the most talked about horses competing at the gala meeting.

The son of Deep Impact first came to attention in the Listed Ireland Trophy, one of his five victories in six outings as a three-year-old in Japan. He did not run at two. Last year he won three of his four starts in Japan, all stakes races, and the most important of these came in the Group 2 Mainichi Okan. He also travelled abroad and annexed the Group 1 Longines Hong Kong Cup.