Keith Melrose on the 'unfortunate contradiction' central to the puzzle of the Hungerford

Received wisdom has it that the seven-furlong division is the most unloved in Europe generally, and Britain specifically. There is no open-aged Group 1 over the trip in Britain or Ireland, making it the sole exception among all major distances.

This makes the placement of the five British Group 2s at the distance, which includes the Hungerford Stakes, all the more curious. All five come between the last days of July and the first weekend in October, two months plus some spare change. Three of them – the Lennox Stakes, Hungerford and City of York Stakes – take place within a 26-day window.

Also, right at either end of that window come the biggest open-age seven-furlong races in Ireland and France. In all, the British Pattern at seven furlongs creates almost the perfect circumstances if your main aim is to avoid a reckoning over the trip.