Battaash and Dayjur are chalk and cheese as much as peas from the same pod

A pair of bay horses bereft of any white on their foreheads, a splash of white down their hind legs, both running in the distinctive blue livery of Hamdan Al Maktoum and both blisteringly fast.

The parallels between Dayjur and Battaash came into sharp focus after the latter lowered the former’s track record in winning last week’s Nunthorpe Stakes. It is testament to Dayjur’s explosive pace that York’s five-furlong benchmark had survived for 29 years. For Battaash to shave more than a quarter of a second off it attests to his new-found maturity.

In other respects, the two horses are like chalk and cheese. Dayjur was a composed individual from whom speed had to be coaxed. As the world knows, Battaash is the polar opposite. His speed had to be harnessed before he could express his greatness.