IF the response to Cliffs Of Moher’s win was lukewarm, the same could be said of the response to the success of his stable companion Venice Beach in the Group 3 Chester Vase the day before. With little more than a length covering the first four – each of whom had won nothing more than a maiden previously – that would be understandable.

The stopwatch was more encouraging, however, with Venice Beach’s time equivalent to a timefigure of 111. The highest figure by a three-year-old in Britain and Ireland so far this year is 119 (Barney Roy in the Greenham and Winter in the 1000 Guineas).