Keith Melrose assesses who could prove a seven-furlong star in John of Gaunt

3.30 Haydock
Betway John of Gaunt Stakes (Group 3) | 7f | 4yo+ | ITV/RTV

The determination of seven furlongs as the intermediate trip is historically arbitrary but no less real for being so. The Pattern decides breeding habits and a traditional lack of top races at this distance means few horses are bred to be seven-furlong performers.

Received wisdom has it that a sprinter's attributes are discrete from a miler's and the seven-furlong horse falls between the two. The modern interpretation, particularly using striding data, argues for a spectrum where a horse's stride frequency is the defining metric.