Our attention turns to the Flat world from now on and with the badly-affected 2020 fixture list likely to throw up some changes regarding the Classic programme, where better to kick off than the horse who has come closest to Triple Crown glory in recent years?
Simply click on the links and press play to watch the videos of Camelot through his three-year-old season.
WATCH: May 5 - QIPCO 2000 Guineas, Newmarket
Unbeaten at two including when odds-on for the Group 1 Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster, there was never any secret about the talents of Camelot and he was 15/8 fav for the Guineas on his return. It looked a tall order two furlongs out but the engine clicked into overdrive from that point and he came between rivals towards the stands' side to eventually win a shade cosily from Gallic raiders French Fifteen and Hermival in a far from vintage renewal of the first Classic of the season.
WATCH: June 2 - Investec Derby, Epsom
Odds-on after winning the Guineas over a trip considered to be a bare minimum, Camelot seemingly scared off a lot of potential rivals with only eight taking him on at Epsom. Predictably, he was finely tuned for the big day and sparked genuine Triple Crown dreams with a runaway success.
WATCH: June 30 - Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby, Curragh
Only four horses opted to take him on at the Curragh later in the month and one of those was from his own stable. Long odds-on at 1/5 this time and, although jinking slightly to his left when the race really started to hot up, the son of Montjeu got the job done by two lengths from Born To Sea.
WATCH: September 15 - Ladbrokes St Leger, Doncaster
Nijinsky in 1970 remains the last horse to complete the Triple Crown but Camelot could, and arguably should, have followed in his hoofprints with victory at Doncaster. He was denied a perfect run in the straight and then hung to the left when asked for maximum effort and in the circumstances did extremely well to be beaten only three-quarters of a length. The winner, Encke, was later one of the Mahmood Al Zarooni horses banned for a prolonged period over the use of prohibited substances in a BHA raid on the Godolphin yard the following spring. Encke was beaten in his next three starts, never winning another race, while Camelot went to the Arc de Triomphe and finished seventh as the 2/1 favourite. He won once as a four-year-old before being retired to stud.
Fast Results
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