“HE’S a proper early, fast and mature two-year-old. He jumps, he takes loads of racing, and like all the No Nay Nevers has loads of speed.”

This was the summation of trainer Aidan O’Brien, speaking of his champion juvenile of 2022, Blackbeard, who raced every month from April to September. The Cartier champion juvenile colt was successful in six of his eight starts, and he now takes a well-trodden path, and a generally successful one, by going to stud as a three-year-old.