Coolmore defied their stallion-making model - and now it might reward them with victory in a July Cup bursting with talent

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Geldings competing in Group 1s has been a bone of contention recently and, in leading July Cup contender Mission Central, we have a case in point of how the procedure can prove transformative.

His trainer Aidan O'Brien, who is on a blistering run and has 12 top-level wins to his name already this year, was among those to question France Galop's decision to ask the European Pattern Committee to sanction a change in race conditions to allow geldings to contest the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe from next year.

He said: "When a horse is gelded, you've got to understand that everything changes – and I mean absolutely everything. They become so much easier to manage and train so, look, it's going to be a different race from next year onwards."