John Gosden’s assured handling of older horses shone brightly at York - but it’s a gloomy outlook for three-year-olds

None of the big summer meetings provoke such extremes of emotion as York’s Ebor festival. Excitement at the start gives way to a feeling of melancholy four days later. Effectively, another summer of thrills and spills has come and gone.

Yes, there’s the St Leger meeting next month, but Doncaster doesn’t stage any Group 1 racing that week apart from the season’s final Classic. It’s just possible the St Leger might throw up a plausible Arc candidate, yet to all intents and purposes the Flat season’s rump is cooked.

Although there is Arc weekend beyond Doncaster, and Champions Day to follow, top-of-the-ground horses are unlikely to encounter suitable conditions at the onset of autumn. A change of cast is imminent. The likes of Anmaat, Jan Brueghel, Kalpana and Los Angeles will soon come into their own.