THE nature of the National Hunt industry is such that there are times when a stallion’s worth does not become fully apparent until he is in his late teens, or sometimes not until after his death, and it is this year that the loss of Voix Du Nord (by Valanour) has really been highlighted.

A middle-distance Group 1 winner who stood at Haras National de Cercy La Tour in France, the grandson of Lomond died last year at the age of 12.