Slate House has raw ability to outrun big odds if he turns up in JLT at festival

It is hard to believe sometimes that the November meeting does not contain a Grade 1 race, but it is at least apt. This meeting, perhaps more than any other, is known for launching top-class careers rather than consecrating them.

It seems unlikely that BetVictor Gold Cup winner Happy Diva, extremely admirable though she is, will develop into a Ryanair or Gold Cup contender.

As much as anything else, her win was the result of her straightforward way of going about things and a quietly excellent ride from Richard Patrick, who always had his mount in the right place.