Big Evs adds spice to Nunthorpe - now let's see juveniles get their chance in Flying Five

Early inter-generational clashes at Group 1 level are one of the most fascinating aspects of the racing year and the appearance of a juvenile taking on the elders at York always adds a special dash of spice, so Big Evs is a welcome addition to the field for Friday's Coolmore-sponsored Nunthorpe Stakes.

It's an occurrence that brings me back to early exposure to the subtle mysteries of the sport. Watching the Ebor meeting on television as a child, an event that signalled the closing chapter of the summer holidays, I vaguely recall having the rudiments of the weight-for-age scale explained to me for the first time and distinctly remember being told at some point that two-year-olds had a good record in the Nunthorpe, attributable to the splendidly accurate calculations made by Admiral Rous in the 19th century.

This introduction to the notion of race trends would have developed into a spectacularly unsuccessful punting system had I chosen to follow it. With the benefit of hindsight, one can see that the 'good record' was based on a small sample in the mid-1950s when the race had three juvenile winners in a period of four years, including the Paddy Prendergast-trained My Beau in 1954.