IT is the time of year when thoughts – at least some of them – turn to the winter ahead and beyond that to the flat season after it. There is, of course, plenty of action to take place on the level in the coming weeks but many of the most promising efforts will be discussed with next year’s classics primarily in mind.

That was the case with Saxon Warrior’s victory in Sunday’s Juddmonte Beresford Stakes at Naas, a race which had been won by the likes of Capri and St Nicholas Abbey (as well as by some much more forgettable types) when taking place at the Curragh.