All hail Paddington, the unlikely star of the 2023 Flat season 

The Aidan O'Brien-trained Siyouni colt began his three-year-old campaign by winning an unremarkable Naas handicap in March off an unremarkable rating of 97

Aidan O'Brien meeting Paddington the bear after his namesake horse Paddington won the Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood at the start of this month. 

Disgruntled punters, complaining about miserable prices offered by tight-fisted bookies have been heard to observe that “at least Dick Turpin wore a mask.” 

What many mightn’t realise is that the mask didn’t work and the fabled highwayman’s cunning disguise didn’t bring him the life and luxuries that he’d hoped for and after a fairly short career on the wrong side of the tracks he was apprehended and convicted by the forces of law and order in 1739.