Obaid's comments inadvertently pay the highest tribute to Cumani

Last month Roger Varian said he would be surprised if there was a better horse in the world than Postponed and after Wednesday's performance many more of us joined him in his global conviction.

Some champions erupt on to our screens as fully formed phenomenons, like Frankel, while others grow slowly into their superstardom. We saw the emergence of just such a late-flowering champion at York as the five-year-old Postponed delivered a performance of intensity and courage to defeat a typically formidable Juddmonte International field by over a length.

It was, lest we forget, only a little over 12 months ago that Roger Varian's star was denounced by some as a sub-par King George winner. Now Postponed stands at the head of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe ante-post lists and may soon be crowned officially the world's top-rated horse.