'He's a very, very good horse - and he'll win a big one somewhere down the line'

Last season wasn't a vintage one at Herridge in terms of the bare number of winners, but the emergence of Rosallion as one of the best three-year-olds in Europe was a huge boost for the yard, and he wasn't alone, with Guineas runner-up and Jersey winner Haatem joining the fray.

Those two will be back to challenge for top honours this year, and the signs from the early exchanges are that this will be an exciting campaign.

"The two-year-olds weren't very good last year," says Richard Hannon, "but a lot of them were late-maturing types, sometimes intentionally, and funnily enough I've got some nice three-year-olds this year and some nice middle-distance horses for this season and next.