'When I asked Mtoto to go I couldn't believe it, we just sprinted past them'

Mtoto brought brightness to the racing landscape: a splash of yellow from his owner's silks, a dab of white from his lavish blaze, but more than these was his mere presence, which lit up every race in which he was involved. Mtoto was a star; he shone.

Thirty years ago this summer we basked gratefully in the glare of Mtoto's brilliance, although the light from some stars does take a long time to reach us.

Mtoto was beaten in his only start at two, injury to a hind leg ending his campaign. At three he won his maiden at Haydock but showed little of any consequence – he had fragile feet, which bedevilled him throughout his career – until finishing fourth in the 1986 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (then a Group 2) on his final start.