'He's a progressive sort and any serious improvement could make him dominant'

Sprinters used to be the big-name Flat performers who would hang around for season after season. However, the likes of Battaash, who was gelded very early in his career, are the exception rather than the rule these days.

Last year's champion sprinter in Britain, July Cup winner and Sprint Cup second Starman, is now standing at Tally-Ho Stud, while Oxted is reportedly likely to miss the season after injuring a tendon in preparation for the Duke of York Stakes. That leaves very few British-trained sprinters likely to run this year who recorded a Racing Post Rating above 120 in 2021.

Nowadays the Commonwealth Cup provides a stream of classy three-year-olds into the division from the July Cup onwards. In terms of the British challenge in the big sprints, plenty will rest on how that race unfolds on the Friday of Royal Ascot. Recent history tells us that one or two of the players from that race are likely to challenge their older rivals as the season wears on.