As a pedigree buff, my ears pricked up following the Group 3 Palace House Stakes, when James Tate, trainer of the victorious Far Above, said: “We realised we had to throw his pedigree out the window and just race what we saw in front of us, which was the fastest horse I’ve ever had.”

I would have to agree that Far Above’s pedigree doesn’t exactly scream 5f, as both his sire Farhh and broodmare sire Shamardal were major winners at up to 1m2f – double the distance of the Palace House Stakes. However, there are elements of his pedigree which make Far Above’s development into a first-rate speedster look much less freakish.

First of all, he is a grandson of Pivotal, who never raced beyond 6f and gained his major successes, in the King’s Stand and the Nunthorpe Stakes, over five. Pivotal, in turn, was a son of Polar Falcon, who had gained all four of his previous wins at around a mile before his victory over the Nunthorpe winner Sheikh Albadou in the Group 1 Sprint Cup at Haydock on only his second start over a distance as short as 6f.

Also, don’t forget that Shamardal was blessed with so much natural speed that he was able to lead every step of the way in each of his six victories. And it was Shamardal who was responsible for last year’s champion sprinter Blue Point, twice a winner of the King’s Stand Stakes.

“There are elements of his pedigree which make Far Above’s development into a first-rate speedster look much less freakish”

I could also add that Far Above’s pedigree contains four distant lines to the remarkably versatile Northern Dancer, through his sons Nureyev, Storm Bird, Shareef Dancer and Nijinsky. Although the diminutive Northern Dancer stayed well enough to win the Kentucky Derby, he was a son of the very speedy Nearctic, whose string of track records included one over 5f and two over six.

It’s fair to say that Northern Dancer’s enormous legacy has long been very apparent in the top prizes at under a mile, not just in the middle-distance sector. The Danzig branch has given us the likes of Anabaa, Danehill, Exceed And Excel, Fastnet Rock, Green Desert, Invincible Spirit, Oasis Dream and War Front. The Nureyev branch is still being very ably represented by Pivotal and Siyouni, while the Try My Best branch continues to flourish via the likes of Acclamation and his son Dark Angel.

Although Storm Bird’s male line has lost its main flagbearers with the untimely deaths of Scat Daddy and Shamardal, both these influential stallions are well placed to continue the good work. Scat Daddy’s team at Coolmore features No Nay Never and Caravaggio, as well as Ten Sovereigns, while Shamardal’s trio of Group 1-winning 2019 two-year-olds, including the recent Poule d’Essai des Poulains winner Victor Ludorum, look likely to bolster a team headed by Blue Point.

Shamardal’s son Lope de Vega has already shown what he can do, with those fast Australian horses Gytrash, Santa Ana Lane and Vegadaze showing that his Group 1 Al Quoz winner The Right Man isn’t a one-off in the sprinting division.

Sadly, Tate revealed on Thursday that Far Above had suffered a career-ending injury during the race and has now been retired.