Traditionalists will fume - but it's time to consider reducing the Derby trip

Howls of outrage took years to subside when the French authorities announced a radical overhaul of the country's programme for middle-distance three-year-olds in 2005, but those who were mocked can now reflect positively on their foresight.

Many felt the French had taken leave of their senses when the Prix du Jockey Club was reduced in distance from 12 furlongs to an extended ten furlongs. The series of trials were also recast: out went the Prix Lupin, which was anomalous as a Group 1 race anyway, while the Grand Prix de Paris was increased from ten to 12 furlongs and run in mid-July.

Yet while traditionalists foamed at the mouth, the revamp was an accurate reflection of the times. Very few winners of the Poule d'Essai des Poulains went on to contest the Jockey Club, as they invariably did in bygone days. There was no longer a rite of passage, and with fewer horses bred to excel over 12 furlongs, the Prix du Jockey Club had been throwing up some decidedly ordinary winners.