Don't be fooled by Book 1 bubble - British racing remains in a perilous position

Standing on Warren Hill at the start of the year, at a time when winning the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe with Alpinista was nothing more than a pipe dream, Sir Mark Prescott told me that he thought the most recent intake of Newmarket trainers was probably the strongest the town had ever seen.

Over the ten months which have followed, I have visited three of those precocious youngsters at their yards in Flat racing's headquarters, namely George Boughey, Harry Eustace and James Ferguson. And, not for the first time, I can tell you Prescott's judgement was spot on.

All three struck me as being intelligent, ambitious, articulate and savvy. In different ways they have enjoyed seasons to be hugely proud of, but the thing they have in common other than their youth and talent is their business models revolved around the export market when they launched.