He would be some sight in the Derby - why this 2,000 Guineas runner should line up at Epsom

Approaches to breeding have changed radically in the last 20 years. Speed is now prioritised over stamina, to the extent that very few three-year-olds now stay a mile and a half or further. Consequently, I believe top horses can get away with not really staying the trip because it is rare for the opposition to have the stamina to pose a threat.

This has probably been the case for a long time. If you ask Willie Carson whether 1989 Derby winner Nashwan really stayed a mile and a half he would firmly tell you he didn't. The roster of Derby winners is littered with horses who were better over shorter, but they could win at Epsom because they were miles better than their opposition. These days that is even more likely owing to the way horses are bred in Europe.

In my youth I remember watching Steve Ovett winning the 5,000 metres at the Commonwealth Games despite his best trip being over a mile. He could win over three times his best distance because he was up against inferior opposition, but when he took on the world's best over 5,000 metres, the ones who truly stayed the trip and had the requisite class to match, he was lapped.