No longer the nearly horses: how Charyn and Bluestocking have repaid the patience of connections at four

In a corner of rural Normandy sits last year’s Cartier Horse of the Year Award, proudly displayed alongside the silver-plated trophy for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and a huge, incongruous memento for the same owner’s triumph in the 2008 Arlington Million, one which looks like it should be celebrating the Soviet-era space programme. 

Ace Impact scooped the top prize courtesy of two spellbinding performances in the Prix du Jockey Club and the Arc, a precision smash-and-grab which totalled barely four and a half minutes of running time.

At this stage the race to be crowned leading three-year-old looks like determining this year's overall champion of Europe, with City Of Troy and Economics each having one chance remaining to impress, starting with Shaikh Isa’s flashy chestnut in Saturday’s Qipco Champion Stakes.