Of the six two-year-olds we consigned to the CTS Ready To Run sale in 2015, two became graded stakes-winners on the same afternoon, when Sergeant Hardy and Nordic Breeze won their respective nurseries. Also in that line-up of two-year-olds was a colt we liked a lot.

Going by the name of Crowd Pleaser (a riff on the ‘happy’ part of his dam’s name, Happy Jean), he had shown promise in his racecourse appearances, but hadn’t yet become that in both name and deed. His close 2nd in the Cup Trial on 10 June suggested that was about to change, and then he ran away with the Grade III Campanajo over 2200m on July day. His Greyville record now stands at six starts, four wins and two seconds. His front-running style is clearly suited to the track.

His dam, Happy Jean, had bred five winners from six runners. Three of them had won three races, so even though she hadn’t produced a stakes-winner (until Crowd Pleaser came along, that is), she had done enough for us to maintain confidence in her.