Donning first-time blinkers and hooded for stalls entry, French Master put in what, ultimately, looked a rather sour performance. Saving ground on the rail, and running in the last three with Mount Athos and Al Nayyir, he tracked around amiably enough, as nine-year-old previous winner Quickthorn cut out the running. In the straight, his progress was minimal – meanwhile, his fellow backmarkers swept through to prominence, alongside French Master’s recent Royal Ascot conqueror, Illinois. The race was won by Al Nayyir; French Master an unwilling-looking sixth.

A newish addition to the sequence of Cup races for elite stayers, the Lonsdale ascended to G2 status in 2004. The John Gosden yard has provided the winner in five of the past eight runnings, and today depends on Wathnan’s French Master. Yet to succeed at Group level, he ran supremely well over an extreme distance to be narrowly beaten at the Royal meeting (his conqueror, Illinois, reopposes); French Master then put in another honest performance in the G1 Goodwood Cup, finishing fourth, albeit well beaten. His rivals this afternoon include the 2022 winner Quickthorn, reappearing as a nine-year-old having last raced almost two years ago.