If Aidan O'Brien prompted due amusement yesterday, when forgetting the name of his Investec Oaks winner at the press conference, then rival trainers are unlikely to have seen the funny side.

Yet again the strength in depth of the Classic generation at Ballydoyle is inviting invidious comparisons with the Turf's other superpowers. At Godolphin, in particular, a recent mood of renewal was abruptly suspended after both the first two Classics were won by their great rivals. Godolphin failed even to muster a runner in the 2,000 Guineas, while its two fancied fillies in the 1,000 Guineas both finished tailed off. The stakes will be uncomfortably high, then, when the unbeaten Mandaean measures his Investec Derby prospects in the Betfred Dante Stakes at York tomorrow. And there is commensurate significance, surely, in the fact that the imported colt will be ridden by another new recruit from France.

After such a miserable experience at Aintree, it will come as a profound relief for the Turf community to turn its gaze today upon a featureless Suffolk plain. Not that the Rowley Mile is entirely flat. In fact, it is precisely the opportunity to acquaint potential Classic candidates with the Dip – even as a race enters its decisive phase – that gives the Craven meeting its purpose. That is most obviously true of those whose rehearsals qualify them to return in barely a fortnight, for the Guineas, but will also apply to some whose target is instead the Investec Derby over the rollercoaster at Epsom.

Weekend preview: Godolphin riders renew rivalry at Kempton, where both should score, while Thimaar can take the Queen's Prize

In the event, it was not Chantal Sutherland who would make the most insistent stand on behalf of the rights of the female. Entering the tunnel between the saddling ring and paddock, owners and trainers escorting runners in the world's richest race suddenly found themselves obliged to stand and wait on the clarion instructions of Sheikh Mohammed's four-year-old daughter, Al Jalila. Her mortified mother, Princess Haya, hastened back to remonstrate; but the little sheikha had achieved her purpose and, to general amusement, was able to hurtle gaily down the vacated chute beneath the grandstand. It would prove only the prelude to a race of similarly unfettered celebration.

Cheltenham? What do you mean, Cheltenham? Well, yes, perhaps it will help pass the time. But the real anticipation, in some quarters, is for the forthcoming Flat season – and not just because of Frankel.

Two fairly momentous new chapters open on the Turf today. On the home front, an amended penalty structure is introduced ahead of the latest, dizzying revision to the whip rules. In Dubai, meanwhile, Silvestre De Sousa rides for Godolphin for the first time since accepting a post that accelerates his giddy rise through the ranks.

The Last Word

If the second of the Group One prizes contested at Deauville yesterday showcased the efficiency of one bloodstock superpower, Juddmonte Farms extending their remarkable recent spree, the first had drawn attention to the deficiencies in others. David Brown, Yann Barberot and Christophe Ferland hardly have the profile and resources of the elite stables, but saddled the three leading fancies for the Prix Morny. Quite where all the other empires were hiding their juveniles is hard to say, but Ferland showed that simply buying up the most expensive bloodlines can never be enough.

Apprentice plays waiting game to perfection as he guides Moyenne Corniche to victory in Europe's richest handicap

Some may beg to differ, principally those incautious enough to risk fortunes on a horse that had never even contested a Group One race against two that had already won nine between them. But while these shared a cold illumination with Await The Dawn, sent off at staggering odds of 8-13, it otherwise proved impossible to resist the contagion of joy diffused by the brave success of Twice Over in the Juddmonte International Stakes here yesterday.

The spectacle of four horses plunging towards the line together here yesterday seemed to give substance to the suspicion that the present crop of stayers, behind Fame And Glory, are a fairly anonymous bunch. It would be more charitable, however, to acknowledge that they had provided the finish of the week in the Artemis Goodwood Cup, with the official margins given as a head, neck and nose.

Fiorente should continue his upward curve in the Gordon Stakes on opening day of Glorious Goodwood