Prince starts school five years after parents began relationship

The first time a stallion sets eyes on the mare he is about to cover usually happens in the breeding shed at a stud farm, but not for Lethal Force and Fanrouge, whose two-year-old son Prince Of The Dark has his first outing in Bath's novice stakes on Friday.

The pair, who made their debuts within two days of each other in May 2011, may have first swapped admiring glances at each other when winning consecutive races on the same Bath card in April 2012.

They were to get even closer the following month when lining up in Newbury's Carnarvon Stakes, in which Lethal Force was beaten a neck into second with Fanrouge not far back in fifth.

A second date followed in the Sandy Lane Stakes at Haydock when Lethal Force, who sired his first winner at Leicester on Monday thanks to the Charlie Hills-trained Queen Of Kalahari, confirmed superiority by claiming third as his future paramour finished sixth.

Love at first sight? Lethal Force and Fanrouge clashed in the Carnarvon Stakes five years ago

Their careers then took different routes as the Clive Cox-trained grey Lethal Force went on to capture the 2012 Hungerford Stakes and, the following year, confirmed himself as a top-class sprinter at four with wins in the Diamond Jubilee and July Cup, while Fanrouge developed into a solid handicapper for Malcolm Saunders before joining Rod Millman.

Prince Of The Dark, who is trained by Cox, is Fanrouge's first runner and was bred by the Craddock family who owned Lethal Force before his sale to Cheveley Park Stud.

Cox said: "I'm looking forward to getting Prince Of The Dark started and he's done everything well at home. This is his first day at school, but we like him.

"It was great to see Lethal off the mark as a stallion on Monday and hopefully he can gain some momentum now.

"It's a wonderful story as the sire and dam used to race against each other and they also won at Bath, which is interesting."

British Stallion Studs Novice Stakes card