The British Horseracing Authority is urging MPs to take part in the debate over affordability checks, which will take place in Westminster Hall on Monday.

It is the first chance for MPs to properly interrogate proposals of the implementation of the supposedly “frictionless” checks after 100,000 people signed an e-petition to trigger the debate.

The BHA is warning as many as 1,000 stable staff could lose their jobs if the new scheme comes in.

A statement from the BHA read: “As the petition has demonstrated, there is widespread opposition to affordability checks among the public, who feel that they should be able to participate in a legitimate leisure activity without the potentially disproportionate interventions represented by one-size-fits-all state-mandated affordability limits.

“There has been little opportunity for MPs to scrutinise such significant changes to gambling regulations which, if introduced, could cost the sport of horseracing up to £50million per annum. It is therefore vital that as many MPs as possible attend the debate so that this important issue is subject to the appropriate level of parliamentary scrutiny.”

BHA chief executive Julie Harrington said: “The latest data, which highlights the terrible scale of job losses that could result from these checks on betting as currently proposed, showcases yet again the importance of this issue and the need for government to get it right.

“We look forward to the issue of affordability checks being properly debated by MPs. The BHA has worked tirelessly with stakeholders from across the sport to ensure as many parliamentarians as possible have been contacted in advance of the debate and urged to take part.

“We also thank racing supporters who have sent letters to their MP through the RMG, ATR or Racing Post websites.

“This outreach has further raised awareness around the potential unintended consequences to racing of these measures and we are hopeful that this will translate into a strong turnout for the debate.

“While we want to manage expectations on whether the debate can deliver an immediate change in Government policy, we continue to call for a rethink on the proposals to strike a better balance between protecting vulnerable customers and allowing those who gamble safely and responsibly to do so unimpacted.”

Stuart Edmunds was rewarded for rolling the dice as Marsh Wren took top honours in the Carey Glass Irish EBF Colreevy Mares Novice Chase at Thurles.

The eight-year-old – who numbers former footballer Ben Turner among her owners – was a good-quality hurdler who has been highly consistent since switching to fences, winning two of her three starts prior to setting sail for Ireland from her Stewkley base in Buckinghamshire.

Her only reversal was a second-placed run in the Listed Lady Godiva Chase at Wincanton in December and at Thurles she aimed to go one better at the same level.

Under usual pilot Ciaran Gethings, she seemed to relish the soft ground and made the running before facing a challenge or two in the home straight, as other horses tried to compete.

Marsh Wren was not for passing, however, and held on resolutely to prevail by three-quarters of a length at 9-4 and provide both trainer and jockey with their first win on Irish turf.

“She’s a credit to everybody and to herself, she never knows when she’s beaten. She did it very well,” said Edmunds.

“She’s very, very tough. She is a credit to everybody at home, as they do a great job and she always rewards them.

“It was a brave choice, as it costs a few quid to go, but she had placed black type over here and we wanted to try to win one.

“It’s very valuable for a mare, it makes a big difference for them.”

A delighted Gethings added: “That was a some buzz and fair play to Stuart and Ben Turner, the owner, and fair play to everybody for putting their hands in their pockets and coming over.

“I’m from Tinahely (County Wicklow) and moved over to England when I was 16. I spent six years with Philip Hobbs before moving to Tom George’s and have been with Stuart for a long, long time now. I live in Cheltenham and this is my first Irish winner.

“I might have bits and bobs for Cheltenham (Festival) and might ride for Kim Bailey if he has two horses for a race.”

Marsh Wren holds an entry for the Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase at the Cheltenham Festival but would require the going to be soft if that race is to be considered.

“It would need to be soft, it seems silly to say that with the rain at the minute!” Edmunds said.

“We put her in because it wasn’t too expensive but we’ll have to see what the weather does closer to the time.”

Willie Mullins’ Largy Hill continued his progression with a neat success in the BoyleSports Michael Purcell Memorial Novice Hurdle.

The seven-year-old has been making a good go of his first season over timber so far, placing second on debut and then winning last time out at Cork.

He was 100-30 at Thurles when stepping up to Grade Three level, with stablemate Stoke The Fire starting at 7-1 and Gordon Elliott’s Staffordshire Knot the 8-11 favourite.

Largy Hill was comfortably able to take the top prize, travelling and jumping well under Paul Townend and strolling to a four-length success ahead of the market leader.

“Largy Hill did everything right and that was a good effort,” Mullins said.

“You could see his jumping was that of an ex-point-to-pointer, compared to Stoke The Fire (third), who was novicey, and What Path (fourth), who jumped a bit left.

“I was very happy with Stoke The Fire and that will bring him on hugely.

“The winner is a big, chasing type and it is nice to win a prize like this. I doubt he’ll go to Cheltenham and will wait until Fairyhouse instead.”

David Beckham’s Inter Miami want to become one of the world’s top clubs on the field and a globally-recognised brand like the New York Yankees away from it.

The Manchester United and England great has been a gamechanger for the ever-evolving Major League Soccer since swapping Real Madrid for the LA Galaxy in 2007.

That unique deal gave Beckham the option to purchase an expansion club at a discounted price, leading to the foundation of Inter Miami six years ago.

There have been bumps in the road since the team’s first season in 2020 but the arrival of Lionel Messi – arguably the greatest player of all time – last summer has taken them to a new level.

Former Barcelona team-mates Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Luis Suarez have followed the Argentina skipper to a team that co-owner Beckham wants to aim for the stars.

Inter Miami assistant manager Javier Morales said: “I’m the fifth employee of this club so I know this club from the bottom.

“When I first spoke to David, he said he thinks this could be a big club. Obviously he came from Man Utd and he used to play for big teams. That is his idea.

“He wants Inter Miami to be a top team not just in the country but also in the world.”

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Ambitious Miami’s quality saw them installed as the overwhelming bookmakers’ favourites to end 2024 as MLS Cup champions ahead of Wednesday’s curtain raiser.

They opened with a 2-0 win against Real Salt Lake and their favourites tag marks quite the turnaround from last term, when their memorable Leagues Cup triumph came during a dreadful MLS campaign.

“Right now the mentality is different and they (the former Barcelona players) used to win everything, they used to win a lot,” said Morales, who has risen from academy coach to his current role as assistant to Tata Martino.

“They arrived last June with the club and the expectations for us here are high. For them it’s not going to be an issue.

“For the kids and the young players in the team it could be a little bit different but to have those players guide them is going to be a good mix.”

Beckham’s grand plans for Miami are bearing fruit off the field as well as on it.

The Florida outfit was the most-searched sports team on Google in 2023 and recently returned from a pre-season tour of Hong Kong, Japan and Saudi Arabia.

Their eye-catching pink shirts are flying off the shelves as Messi’s arrival and the draw of Miami combine to help transform the team into a growing global brand.

Chief business officer Xavier Asensi believes that the unique combination creates an aura around a club that means “the sky is the limit”.

“Do you like baseball? I don’t,” Barcelona’s former chief commercial officer said. “But do you have a cap with the NY of the Yankees? How cool is that? So, imagine if you like baseball… for me, that is the potential we have.

“We have the potential of the sexiness, the brand that can be a fashion. People are wearing it and they know what it is.

“Sometimes people wearing the Yankees cap think it is New York and they like New York. But it is the baseball team. We have that potential.

“In order to unlock that, only the best are enough. We need to surround ourselves with the best people to unlock the potential that we have as a brand. This is not just football, we can go bigger and better.”

Heavy rain around the UK continues to hit this week’s National Hunt fixtures, with Sunday’s top-class card at Fontwell and Friday’s meeting at Warwick falling to the weather.

The £80,000 Grade Two Star Sports National Spirit Hurdle was to be the feature race of Fontwell’s biggest day of their centenary year.

However, persistent heavy rain has left standing water on the West Sussex venue, with 18mm falling prior to a 4pm inspection on Thursday.

Clerk of the course Philip Hide said: “The track is waterlogged and I’m seeing water lying where I’ve never seen it before.

“We just haven’t got any fresh ground to offer up to get any meaningful racing line, with a forecast for plenty more rain – although the forecast doesn’t have a lot to do with it, because it would need to improve a fair amount from where we’re at and there’s just no prospect of it happening.

“Even though I was expecting today to be wet, we’ve probably had 5mm above where I dreaded being. We had about 5mm in 25 minutes around 12 o’clock today.

“It’s an important race for us, but unfortunately, however much you want something to happen, you can’t make it happen. I couldn’t just keep going blindly forward, I’d be misleading people.

“It’s not a hard decision to make and it’s not a decision I’ll regret at any stage – I’m happy to have made it in a timely fashion, to be honest.

“Obviously, there’s a chance they might put the race on somewhere for those horses that have been waiting for it – I think Brewin’upastorm has had it as a target since winning it last year.”

Following another downpour at Warwick, the adjacent Gog Brook burst its bank and left the course unraceable due to waterlogging.

Officials quickly decided there would not be sufficient improvement ahead of raceday and called an early halt to proceedings.

A precautionary inspection has also been scheduled for 8am ahead of Exeter’s jumps meeting on Friday.

After 10.5mm of rain fell on Thursday morning, the ground was described as heavy but raceable, although the last hurdle in the backstraight is being omitted.

The prospect of further showers has forced officials to take another look at conditions in the morning.

Thursday’s meeting at Huntingdon was called off due to a waterlogged track, but prospects for Saturday’s big jumps meetings are more encouraging.

The Premier Raceday fixture at Kempton, which features the £150,000 Coral Trophy Handicap Chase and a trio of Grade Two events, is set to be staged on going that is soft, heavy in places.

There has been plenty of rain in the Surrey area but the forecast is for sunshine and showers on Friday and Saturday.

Newcastle’s Eider Chase card is currently set to be run on ground described as heavy, soft in places.

Gosforth Park received less rain than expected over the last two days and a bright and breezy day is forecast for Friday.

Temperatures could drop to around zero for a short time at night, bringing the possibility of a light frost, but raceday has a predcited low risk of showers through the afternoon, with a light breeze and highs of 7C.

Sir Gino does not fit Nicky Henderson’s typical template of a juvenile hurdler – but the giant four-year-old looks so good he has somewhat forced his trainer to go down a tried-and-tested route.

On his arrival from France, Henderson had an inkling he was something out of the ordinary, although his size and shape made connections think he would be more of a longer-term prospect.

Victory on his British debut at Kempton confirmed first impressions that he was very talented but some sloppy jumping still had Henderson thinking he might not be a JCB Triumph Hurdle type.

However, the way he disposed of previous Triumph favourite Burdett Road at Cheltenham soon meant there was only one way to go.

“He’s a lovely big horse. I think we always thought he was very good but didn’t want to get too carried away before we got to see it. Luckily, the spies hadn’t really latched on to him before Cheltenham but we thought he was pretty smart,” said Henderson.

“He’s only had two races for us and one in France, he’s a very talented horse.

“His jumping wasn’t very good at Kempton and he was babyish, he got a bit of a fright when he hit the front. He’d missed a couple on the way, was very good at a couple but he got very goofy on the run-in.

“Normally, we’d expect the French horses to do it in their sleep, as they start with them as yearlings, whereas we chuck them out in the field. The French can normally all do it (jump) blindfolded but he didn’t do it at Kempton, so we did do quite a bit between Kempton and Cheltenham.

“He beat a good horse, but was it the real Burdett Road that showed up and he wasn’t 10lb below his best? We’d have still won but we’re assuming Burdett Road ran to his previous form.”

Usually, Willie Mullins dominates the Triumph Hurdle, but while he did saddle the first four in the Spring Juvenile Hurdle at Leopardstown, Henderson was not left having sleepless nights after it.

“I think he’s very good. It will be an interesting race. What surprised me most at the ‘Willie Mullins Festival’ was the race I was watching most carefully, the juvenile, they all finished in a heap,” said Henderson.

“I was expecting something to jump out from that race but it didn’t look obvious. There’s some nice horses, don’t get me wrong, but nothing to do what Sir Gino did at Cheltenham.

“The Triumph is a tough race and this is a big, scopey horse who will jump a fence, he’s not your typical Triumph horse. Sometimes you might have decided to wait another year with him but we’ve got this far, so we may as well keep going.

“We won’t think about next year, let’s get through this year first. He’s only had two runs, one was a very moderate race at Kempton, so you’d hope he could do that, you have to judge whether Burdett Road ran to his best – he was rated over 100 on the Flat.”

Running through some of his other Festival hopefuls, Henderson said: “Marie’s Rock will run in the Mares’ and I couldn’t be happier. Obviously, Lossiemouth is in the way but she’s in great form. It’s where she’s got to go, it’s the sensible race. She was much better last time and moved much better.

“Under Control might go for the Morebattle (March 2), I want to see what the ground is like at Kelso and then when she’s won that, she’ll have to go for the bonus at Cheltenham – that will be easy!

“We turned her around in nine days last year from Cheltenham to Sandown. I don’t know if she’s well handicapped but she doesn’t need to run in a non-handicap. Something went very wrong in the Gerry Fielden, I never found out what, but she finished very strongly at Doncaster, which was encouraging.

“Jeriko Du Reponet has been in good form. I think the two-miler (Supreme) is going to be the hot one. I just need to persuade Ronnie Bartlett (owner of Ballyburn) to run his over two and a half because he promised me he would about Christmas time but they seem to have changed their minds, which is very inconvenient.

“Iberico Lord will have to think about coming out again. I wouldn’t say he’s a step ahead because he’s won two very good handicaps, he looks really well and he’d be in the County, we’ve several in there. Under Control and Impose Toi could also run in it.

“Doddiethegreat won’t get in the Coral Cup I don’t think, and it’s hurting me because it’s the race for him. It would be really sad because he’s crying out for another half a mile.

“I’ve no real novice chasers, we’ve got good novice hurdlers this year but the novice chasers are weak.

“I’ve got four for the Pertemps; Chantry House, Bold Endeavour, Walking On Air needs to finish in the first four at Chepstow on Saturday and Mill Green, who has been third in it twice.

“Shanagh Bob (Albert Bartlett) had a dirty scope and was wrong over Christmas, he schooled this morning and looks a bit sharper than before Christmas.”

Nicky Henderson is unconcerned that Jonbon is heading for his big clash with El Fabiolo in the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase on the back of a defeat.

For a horse who has won 12 of his 15 races under rules, the Seven Barrows handler also reads nothing into the fact that all three of his defeats have come at Cheltenham.

Stablemate Constitution Hill beat him in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle two years ago, while El Fabiolo saw him off in the Arkle last term. Most recently, in a performance littered with jumping errors, he was beaten in the rearranged Clarence House Chase as the 1-4 favourite.

He did begin this season with a comfortable win at Cheltenham, though, and that is why Henderson sees no reason to worry.

“He’s schooled this morning, AP (McCoy) was here to see him. He’s in good form, very good,” said Henderson.

“We’ve done nothing different (since the Clarence House). You just put it down as one mistake. You’ve got to. He schooled this morning and jumped more than he will in the Queen Mother.

“He won the Shloer, that proves he goes around Cheltenham, I’ve no worries on that front.”

With Alan King’s Edwardstone looking a reformed character having adopted front-running tactics in the Game Spirit Chase, Henderson feels the Queen Mother will be run to suit Jonbon.

He said: “They’ll go some gallop and I think that suits him. It looks as if Edwardstone has come into pace-making duties and he looked good at Newbury, but in some ways, I don’t think that is a bad thing for us. But I would have been happy to make the running.

“AP thought he was very good (Thursday morning) and would love to ride him himself – of all the horses, I know he’d love to ride him because he would suit him. AP has watched him school so many times.

“There’s one fence in our row of five he always meets on the wrong stride but he is so quick sorting his feet out. I think AP would love the challenge of him. While Constitution is straightforward, he is a bit the other way, he tests you, we call him fidgety.

“He did well really last time (to get back on terms), the thing that cost him was the last fence, not the mistake down the hill. If he’d met it on a better stride, it would have been game over, but he landed in a bit of a heap and the other horse just got away from him.”

A step up in trip had been discussed at the end of last season but he was not even entered in the Ryanair this year.

“We discussed it but never put him in the Ryanair. I would have no problem going over two and a half,” said Henderson.

“If you go back to last year, he was going to go over two and a half at Aintree and it was only because the two-mile novice chase was miles weaker that he ran in it, so we stayed at two and he winged round Aintree.

“A fortnight later, we took him to Sandown against his elders to find out and he winged round there, so we said he was a two-miler. I’d be surprised if one day he doesn’t go over further. We’ll find out between now and the end of the season, let’s see how it all goes.”

The rematch with El Fabiolo was all set for the original Clarence House at Ascot but when the race was moved to Cheltenham, Willie Mullins decided to keep his chaser at home.

“I was really looking forward to Ascot and the clash with El Fabiolo, we were in absolute tip-top shape and I was very confident for that, we were very prepared for it,” explained Henderson.

“He’s the one horse, when you’ve wound up the clock, a week was a long time for him, I couldn’t wind him up any more and it gave us a headache of a week.

“People might say what difference does a week make, but to something like him it does. With Constitution Hill, you could hold him for a month, but Jonbon is a bit different to anybody else.

“He might have had a harder race than we imagined from the betting, but until he made that mistake down the hill, everything had gone really nice.”

Constitution Hill has one more serious piece of work left to complete as Nicky Henderson builds up National Hunt racing’s superstar performer for the defence of his Unibet Champion Hurdle crown.

With just under three weeks to go before the Festival in the Cotswolds that has become ever more consuming in recent years, Henderson has had far from a straightforward season with the unbeaten seven-year-old.

He was supposed to begin his campaign in the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle but that meeting was abandoned due to frost and while the race was rescheduled for the following week at Sandown, very testing ground persuaded Henderson to opt against running him.

That meant he went to Kempton on Boxing Day for his first – and so far only – run of the season, where he won effortlessly, but any thoughts of going to Cheltenham on Trials day were scuppered by a dirty scope.

Speaking at a Jockey Club-organised press morning which took place in pouring rain, Henderson’s annoyance at the wet winter was referenced.

He said: “This weather is frustrating. What we would normally do, and would like to do, is being dictated to by the weather, which is rather boring. We like to do a lot of our work on grass and that is not so easy at the moment, there’s no pleasure in all this racing in heavy ground.

“The only horse that has got any major work left to do is Constitution Hill because he hasn’t run since Christmas, which is exactly the same as last year, but we had a couple of weeks off in the middle when he wasn’t quite right.

“Consequently, I’d like an away day, but nothing else needs one as they’ve been running.

“I’d say we’re exactly where we were this time last year, his weight is good, his mind is good – his mind is always good.

“I thought he worked exceptional last Saturday, admittedly it was very foggy, but I thought he moved beautifully. The ground was beautiful, and that is what we want – it was last week, but it won’t be tomorrow.

“When he was wrong, we had to leave him alone for three weeks. You could obviously do without it but he was very fit going into it.

“He had a course of antibiotics and a couple of quiet weeks. He had three different scopes. It’s the sort of thing that happens to all horses all the way through the season. It was probably only a two out of 10, but you can’t ignore it.”

Henderson has often referenced Constitution Hill’s rock-solid temperament and it is for that reason the fact he has only run once this season is of no concern to a trainer who is chasing a record-extending 10th Champion Hurdle.

The Seven Barrows maestro added: “Nothing worries him, he’d run on Friday the 13th if he had to. We’re in good shape, I’d be pretty happy that we are where we were this time last year, or coming into Christmas. He’s in good form.

“At Christmas, he was very ready, as he should have gone to Newcastle, so he was very well prepped for the Christmas Hurdle, but he is again here because straight after Christmas he was back in work because we were trying to get him ready for Trials day, but he hasn’t really missed anything.

“I would still like one good away day, though.”

Last year, Constitution Hill was nine lengths too good for State Man and while Willie Mullins’ chestnut has been mopping up more Grade Ones in Ireland this season, Henderson is content in the knowledge that he has a lot of ground to make up.

He said: “Willie and I have plenty of fun, we’re all good mates. I don’t know what they’ll do (differently), the main thing is we know what we are trying to do.

“So, we can concentrate on what we’re doing, there’s no point concentrating on what everyone else is up to. They’ve got their plans to make and we’ll concentrate on ours.

“State Man looked the same horse to me; he’s a very good horse, there’s no doubt about it, he gets his job done every time.

“But we’ve beaten him once, so let’s hope we beat him again. He only beat First Street a length in the County Hurdle, and we were giving him weight – we know where he is!”

Henderson had mooted running three in the Champion Hurdle but it now appears First Street will step up in trip for the Coral Cup. Luccia will join her stablemate on the first day, however,

“It sounds like Luccia is going to run. Paul Stanley is a real enthusiast, he’s been in the game for years and he’s very keen to run her. Ratings tell you it’s not a great idea but there’s a lot of prize-money,” said Henderson.

“Poor old First Street got put up 4lb for his run behind Lossiemouth, as if he wasn’t high enough in the first place. We’ve just been chasing prize-money with him but he keeps going up in the weights, he wants another half a mile (Coral Cup).”

Shishkin has been unshackled and is ready to make his mark in the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup, with Nicky Henderson having no fears about either the stamina-sapping trip or tackling the might of defending champion Galopin Des Champs.

Henderson has come to the defence of his blue-riband contender, who he believes has been treated like a “criminal let out of prison” at times over the course of the current season.

However, despite failing to start at Ascot and cruelly unseating Nico de Boinville with the King George at his mercy, he heads to Prestbury Park as Britain’s leading hope of Gold Cup glory and with a fine chance of handing the master of Seven Barrows his third success in the highlight of the meeting.

“It’s funny how going into Newbury the other day he was treated like a criminal who was let out of prison,” said Henderson.

“People were saying if he doesn’t turn up today, where is he? He did nothing wrong and the King George wasn’t his fault. He didn’t fall, he just knocked his leg and anyone can do that, it’s just pure bad luck.

“I’ve got to say Ascot was his fault and he was a naughty boy, but that doesn’t make him a criminal and that’s what it felt like heading into Newbury.”

Shishkin produced a foot-perfect performance in Newbury’s Denman Chase and having navigated that Gold Cup prep with flying colours, it is full steam ahead to the Cotswolds.

He has also resisted the temptation to repeat his Ascot misdemeanours at both Kempton and Newbury, with the master of Seven Barrows confident there will be zero issues at the start of the Festival’s feature contest.

“If he turns round, he will always go left and at Cheltenham if he does that, there is nowhere to go,” continued Henderson.

“We had to be mindful at Kempton he could and Newbury he was no bother, he just walked straight in.”

Many questioned whether the application of first-time cheekpieces played a part in Shishkin’s refusal to start on his seasonal return at Ascot and although the thought of reapplying the headgear for the 10-year-old’s Gold Cup tilt has crossed Henderson’s mind, he reveals it was Ruby Walsh who first put the idea into his head.

“I won’t say I haven’t thought about cheekpieces and we’ve thought about it since Newbury, but I would say it is very unlikely. I can’t see us doing it,” added Henderson.

“It had nothing to do with why he didn’t start at Ascot, despite what may have been written.

“He races a little bit behind the bridle sometimes and Ruby was at me the whole time that I had to put cheekpieces on this horse. He was telling me the whole time and I did what Ruby told me to do and look where it got us!”

If the Festival’s most successful rider was playing the role of mole in the camp for the Festival’s most successful trainer Willie Mullins, then Henderson is unperturbed.

The Lambourn handler recently went on a scouting mission to the Dublin Racing Festival to watch the defending Gold Cup champion in the flesh and although suitably impressed by what he witnessed, he is willing to concentrate solely on his own horse in the build-up to Friday, March 15.

Henderson said: “Galopin Des Champs is very solid and sometimes I don’t think he’s as flashy as some. He’s a big, fine, good-looking horse and he’s very classy. He gets the job done. There are moments (in a race) when you wonder, but he’s one of these horses.

“When Constitution Hill is doing his real thing – and I hope he will do it again – he’s commanded the performance from beginning to end really. Shishkin doesn’t do that and a lot of them don’t.

“But Galopin Des Champs has won a Gold Cup, he’s come into it via some good prep races and I think we just need to concentrate on what we’ve got, rather than anyone else.

“You’ve got to have a tactical plan and going into the race we invariably will, but those often get thrown out the window after a furlong and you have to be doing something different, but we won’t be riding Shishkin any differently because of Galopin Des Champs – he’s going to do his thing and we are going to do ours.

“I’m sure Willie will have his plan and we’ll have our plan and the jockeys will probably have a completely different plan and not listen to either of us!”

Shishkin undoubtedly ticks many boxes ahead of his tilt at racing’s most treasured prize, but the former two-mile champion will have to prove he stays every inch of the lung-busting Gold Cup trip when he takes his stamina reserves past three miles for the very first time.

It is ultimately a question that will not be answered until the race itself, but Henderson is taking comfort from the mid-race move made by Shishkin’s big-race pilot De Boinville in the King George as proof the three-and-a-quarter-mile yardage will be well within his compass.

He explained: “It was interesting that if you go back to the King George, good old Frodon is bashing away at the front there and he goes a good gallop.

“I don’t think he’s the old Frodon, but Nico saw fit to actually go and push things along halfway down the back straight and often Frodon will still be in front when they are turning in.

“Nico was happy to let him rock and roll from halfway down the back and he was in command from there – he had beaten the others.”