Every now and then a young jockey emerges who is out of the ordinary – and in the case of Benoit De La Sayette he didn’t take much spotting.
And it’s not just the striking name on a racecard. After all John Gosden, when a solo artist, opted to make him the first apprentice to be attached to his yard for almost 30 years.
There’s clearly so much natural talent in the saddle to sit alongside a level head with De La Sayette. There was no panic in the Unibet Lincoln, even when Haqeeqy was caught in traffic at halfway.
We’re talking high-stakes stuff here, after all this was the jockey’s first competitive ride on turf, but he merely switched to the centre of the track and his partner’s rapier turn of foot did the rest.
And there was no panic either when Matt Chapman bounded alongside with the ITV microphone moments later. An eloquent and excitable interview followed. Two big tests passed in a matter of minutes.
Usually his agent could expect a barrage of phone calls in the weeks and months ahead as trainers look to utilise his claim to gain a competitive edge in handicaps the length and breadth of the land.
This is a jockey on a different trajectory though. Gosden played such a pivotal role in Frankie Dettori’s formative years and he will be a reassuring and calming presence for De La Sayette whatever bumps may be encountered on the road ahead.
But in terms of starting points, booting home an upwardly mobile winner of the Lincoln will do.
Haqeeqy was a poignant one too, carrying the silks of Hissa Hamdan Al Maktoum, daughter of the legendary owner-breeder who died earlier in the week.
“I can’t stop crying” she tweeted moments after her charge crossed the line at Doncaster.
What a legacy her father leaves behind. The Lincoln winner was bought at public auction but it’s the broodmare band where the real magic lies.
Over at Kempton, Al Zaraqaan carried his colours to a bloodless win in the Ladbrokes Rosebery handicap for Shadwell Estate Co.
The son of Golden Horn is closely related to Awtaad, who won the Irish 2000 Guineas for his late owner, and beat into second Almighwar, in his second colours, a son of Shadwell’s Oaks and King George heroine Taghrooda.
Handam Al Maktoum’s influence on the global scene will be felt for many years to come.
And so will Gosden’s, or should that be the Gosdens'?
Thady’s name is now alongside his dad’s on the licence and he was in Dubai to see Lord North thunder home in the Turf and Mishriff tough it out in the Sheema Classic.
Four of the first five horses saddled by the new team won, inside 24 hours there were two Grade One prizes snared on the world stage. It makes you wonder what Senior had been doing all these years?
And to think when the afternoon started it looked as though the camera angles used on ITV for the Unibet Doncaster Mile were going to be the day’s main talking point.
To be fair to the terrestrial broadcaster they had absolutely no control over what came through from the feed at Town Moor and at least the constant switching and side-on views ensured we all felt we had a chance a furlong out – whatever we’d backed.
Twitter was alive with fury as soon as they’d passed the post but it soon passed and tweet of the day went to Hissa Hamdan Al Maktoum – on an emotional afternoon when three young guns took centre stage, helped by the reassuring guidance of an old master.