Current crop of first-season sires playing catch up with the best

In terms of number of individual winners in Britain and Ireland, Helmet and Sir Prancealot lead the field of freshman sires with nine each – from 24 runners in Helmet's case, 49 runners for Sir Prancealot.

History shows they are lagging behind the scorching pace that Invincible Spirit and Iffraaj set in their debut seasons with progeny, when both broke records for number of two-year-old winners. Acclamation and Zebedee also made especially strong starts.

Nine winners up to the start of Glorious Goodwood put Helmet and Sir Prancealot on a par with Dutch Art and Showcasing and one in front of Zoffany, which is not bad company to be keeping.