Nelson did not get off the mark until his third start, when taking a mile maiden at Leopardstown by three lengths, but he advertised his Group 1 potential on his next outing, with an impressive three-length defeat of Kew Gardens in the Group 3 Willis Towers Watson Champions Juvenile Stakes over the same course and distance.

In doing so he became the second pattern winner from Frankel's (by Galileo) second crop and a fifth blacktype scorer from his dam's first six foals.

The Aidan O'Brien-trained bay was bred by Orpendale, Chelston & Wynatt, he is out of the Group 1 Irish Oaks heroine Moonstone (by Dalakhani) and so is a half-brother to listed race winners Nevis (by Dansili) and Stubbs (by Danehill Dancer), to thrice-raced Group 3 Munster Oaks scorer Words (by Dansili), and to US Army Ranger (by Galileo), the Group 3 Chester Vase winner who chased home Harzand in the Group 1 Derby at Epsom last year.

Nelson was sent off an odds-on favourite for the Group 2 Juddmonte Royal Lodge Stakes at Newmarket this afternoon, and although he briefly looked like landing the prize, he was caught close to the line by the John Gosden-trained Roaring Lion, who was extending his unbeaten record to three.

The Curragh classic was the only race that Timeform 119-rated Moonstone won. Her string of blacktype siblings include Group 1 Prix Saint-Alary scorer Cerulean Sky (by Darshaan) – rated 114 by Timeform – and also L'Ancresse (by Darshaan), a filly whose only wins were a maiden and a listed contest but who was runner-up to Vintage Tipple in the Group 1 Irish Oaks and earned her 123 rating from Timeform for her final start, when runner-up to Islington in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf.

Cerulean Sky is the dam of Group 2 Doncaster Cup winner and Group 1 St Leger third Honolulu (by Montjeu), L'Ancresse is the dam of the dual 12-furlong listed scorer Chamonix (by Galileo), and they are all out of the stakes-placed Solo De Lune (by Law Society), as are several other mares of note.

Listed-placed maiden Bywayofthestars (by Danehill) is the dam of Group 3 Chester Vase winner and Group 1 Irish Derby third Orchestra (by Galileo), Hi Ho The Moon (by Be My Guest) is the dam of Grade 2-placed dual listed scorer Latin Love (by Danehill Dancer), and Bright Halo (by Bigstone) is responsible for Group 2-placed stakes winner Nantyglo (by Mark Of Esteem).

Solo De Lune's half-brother Wareed (by Sadler's Wells) won the Group 2 Prix Hubert de Chaudenay, her half-sister Truly A Dream (by Darshaan) won the Grade 2 E.P. Taylor Stakes before going on to become the dam of multiple Grade 1-placed, Group 2 Prix de la Nonette heroine Dream Peace (by Dansili), and they were all out of Truly Special (by Caerleon).

She won the Group 3 Prix de Royaumont, her dam was the Group 1 Irish 1000 Guineas and Group 2 Moyglare Stud Stakes star Arctique Royale (by Royal And Regal), and her siblings featured the middle-distance Group 1-placed Group 2 scorers Russian Snows (by Sadler's Wells) and Modhish (by Sadler's Wells).

They also include one-time scorer Banquise (by Last Tycoon) who made her name at stud, producing the stakes winner Cold Cold Woman (by Machiavellian) and Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup third Robin Hood (by Galileo) and becoming the grandam of the multiple Group 1-placed Group 2 Summer Mile Stakes winner Aljamaaheer (by Dubawi), whose planned stud career was aborted due to infertility.

The fifth dam of Nelson is the Athasi Stakes and Musidora Stakes winner Arctic Melody (by Arctic Slave), which means that Arctique Royale was a half-sister to Le Melody (by Levmoss), dam of the great stayer Ardross (by Run The Gantlet) and of Group 3 scorer and influential broodmare Gesedeh (by Ela-Mana-Mou).

The latter's descendants include the Group/Grade 1 stars Electrocutionist (by Red Ransom), Robertico (by Robellino), and Royal Highness (by Monsun), whereas Ardross became a leading National Hunt stallion whose early flat-bred crops yielded Filia Ardross and Alderbrook, among others of note.

With all of this on the page, Nelson is clearly among the best bred horses in training, and if live up to his potential then he could be a top-class middle-distance horse in the making.

The first crop by Banstead Manor Stud's Timeform 147-rated superstar Frankel (by Galileo) had already yielded a double-digit tally of stakes winners by the time his second crop got off the mark in blacktype company, and the juvenile who did the honours for him was the Aidan O'Brien-trained Rostropovich.

Unplaced over seven furlongs at Leopardstown on his racecourse debut in late May, he opened his winning account at Gowran Park a month later but then disappointed when last of three in a slowly-run contest at Naas.

Both that race and his debut were won by the Ger Lyons-trained Camelback, but the Ballydoyle colt got his revenge when the pair met for a third time. Rostropovich was all out to short-head Coat Of Arms in the Group 2 Galileo Irish EBF Futurity Stakes at the Curragh, with another stable companion, Berkeley Square, one and three-quarter lengths back in third, a head in front of Camelback.

Rostropovich, who was bred by Epona Bloodstock Ltd, is a 1,100,000gns graduate of Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale and he holds a string of big-race entries, including next year's Group 1 Irish 2000 Guineas and Group 1 Investec Derby.

He is out of the dual seven-furlong winner Tyranny (by Machiavellian) and that makes him a half-brother both to Group 2-placed pattern winner Wilshire Boulevard (by Holy Roman Emperor), who is at stud in Denmark, and to Group 1 Phoenix Stakes winner and Coolmore Stud stallion Zoffany (by Dansili).

Zoffany's eldest progeny are four-year-olds and his tally of 13 stakes winners includes classic-placed Group 1 scorer Ventura Storm, juvenile Group 2 winners Foundation, Illuminate, and Waterloo Bridge, Group 2 Mehl-Mulhens Rennen (German 2000 Guineas) victor Knife Edge, and the multiple Group 1-placed, pattern-winning sprinter Washington DC.

Tyranny is a half-sister to Grade 2 Lake Placid Handicap heroine Spotlight (by Dr Fong) and also to Dusty Answer (by Zafonic), the stakes-placed dam of Group 2 Oaks d'Italia runner-up Counterclaim (by Pivotal).

She is out of the Group 3 Prix de la Nonette scorer Dust Dancer (by Suave Dancer) – who is, in turn, out of a one-time juvenile winner named Galaxie Dust (by Blushing Groom) – and Dust Dancer's full-sister Dust Flicker is the dam of Listed National Stakes winner Sweepstake (by Acclamation), a precocious and speedy filly who was later a Grade 3-placed stakes winner over eight and a half furlongs in the USA.

But Dust Dancer also has two half-siblings of note. One is the Group 1-placed middle-distance stakes winner Zimzalabim (by Damister) and the other is Bulaxie (by Bustino), the Group 3 Fred Darling Stakes winner and Group 2 Premio Lydia Tesio runner-up who went on to become a successful broodmare.

Her daughter Injaad (by Machiavellian), who is somewhat closely related to Tyranny, is the dam of the stakes-winning sprinter Mutamarres (by Green Desert), but the most notable of Bulaxie's offspring is Claxon (by Caerleon).

She won the Group 2 Premio Lydia Tesio, she is the dam of Group 1-placed Grade 3 scorer Cassydora (by Darshaan) and of listed race winner Classic Remark (by Dr Fong), and she is the grandam of the pattern winners Ernest Hemingway (by Galileo) and Toulifaut (by Frankel). The first of that latter pair was best at 12-14 furlongs, and the other one won last year's Group 3 Prix d'Aumale over a mile.

All of Rostropovich's races have been over seven furlongs, but with the way he won at the Curragh, combined with his pedigree, there is every reason to hope that he could be effective at a mile to 10 furlongs next season, possibly also staying the mile and a half.

It remains to be seen just how good he is, but if he goes on to win at the highest level then one would expect that he would find a good place at stud, especially if Zoffany continues to produce stakes and pattern winners.

A string of maiden, conditions and nursery winners is a promising start for a freshman sire but it is still a long way short of being awesome, spectacular or any of those other often misused superlatives. It's just something that various stallions achieve each year - nothing out of the ordinary - so hardly enough to get the pulse racing. It is, after all, what many of them are supposed to be doing.

A string of stakes winners in the major racing countries? Well, now that is a different matter entirely. That is the point at which we can start to get excited.

It is still too early to heap on the superlatives and make bold predictions of greatness, but it is the early sign that a young stallion may be on the verge of establishing himself as a future industry leader, and that maybe, just maybe, he might be on his way to stardom.

Frankel (by Galileo) has reached that point.

Banstead Manor Stud's Timeform 147-rated superstar has notched-up a double-digit tally of first-crop juvenile winners, which is noteworthy, but it is the three pattern winners and one listed scorer among them that are seeing him begin to pull away from his cohorts.

Fair Eva started the ball rolling when impressive in the Group 3 Princess Margaret Stakes at Ascot in July and her third-place finish in the Group 2 Lowther Stakes at York, which was won by the Frankel filly Queen Kindly, gave the impression that she already wants a bit farther.

Frankuus created that impression when finishing third and fourth in seven-furlong listed contests at Ascot and Newbury and confirmed it when taking the one-mile Listed 32Red Casino Stakes (registered as the Ascendant Stakes) on soft ground at Haydock on Saturday. Cunco, who gave their sire his first-ever winner, finished third there.

The outstanding French trainer Jean-Claude Rouget introduced an exciting filly in early July and, still undefeated, she is the fourth stakes winner for her sire.

She beat nine rivals in that seven-furlong debut outing at Clairefontaine, followed-up with an odds-on success over a half-furlong farther on the all-weather track at Deauville last month, and then showed her appreciation for a step up to the mile when beating Normandel and Asidious Alexander to take the Group 3 Prix d'Aumale at Chantilly this afternoon.

​Toulifaut was bred in Ireland by the famous Barronstown Stud and her pattern success completed an international double for that team as the Ralph Beckett-trained Simple Verse (by Duke Of Marmalade) won the Group 2 DFS Park Hill Stakes at Doncaster about 75 minutes later.

That older filly, who made €240,000 in Goffs as a yearling, won the Group 1 St Leger and Group 1 Qipco British Champions Filly & Mare Stakes in 2015, and is a half-sister to Even Song (by Mastercraftsman), who won the Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot in June.

Toulifaut was Lot 113 at last year's Tattersalls October Yearling Sale in Newmarket, but she was led out unsold at 285,000gns. Her full-sister is catalogued as Lot 522 in next month's edition of that famous auction and likely to attract a lot of attention.

The Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac looks like an obvious end-of-year target for this promising filly and, next year, if she's still a classic prospect, either the Group 1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches (French 1000 Guineas) or Group 1 Prix Saint-Alary before the Group 1 Prix de Diane (French Oaks). It remains to be seen if she is good enough for those top events, but right now there is every reason to hope that she will be up to competing at that level.

It will be interesting to see just how far she stays. Handling a mile at this point of a juvenile's season often indicates middle-distance potential.

Frankel was never asked to go beyond the extended 10 furlongs of the Group 1 Juddmonte International Stakes at York, and there was neither reason to do so nor to think that 12 furlongs would have been beyond him. He is, after all, a son of Galileo (by Sadler's Wells) and his full-brother Noble Mission won the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud over the distance.

Cassydora (by Darshaan), the dam of Toulifaut, was well-beaten behind Eswarah in the Group 1 Oaks at Epsom, her only attempt at 12, but she ran away with the Listed Oaks Trial over a half-furlong less at Lingfield on her previous start.

Her subsequent form included chasing home Alexander Goldrun in the Group 1 Nassau Stakes over 10 furlongs at Goodwood and, at the age of five, she gave My Typhoon 6lbs and a one and three-quarter-length beating in the Grade 3 Hillsborough Stakes over nine furlongs at Tampa Bay Downs.

Her second foal, Ernest Hemingway (by Galileo), could be described as being a three-parts brother to Toulifaut. He did not run at two but was sent off favourite for the Group 2 Dante Stakes – in which he finished last – following a 10-length winning debut at Dundalk a month before.

He was also tailed off on his third start – when 150/1 for the Group 1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe – but came back at four to take both the Group 3 Curragh Cup and Group 3 Ballyroan Stakes, and he notched-up a repeat success in the former on the second of his two starts as a five-year-old.

Cassydora is a half-sister to four blacktype horses, including the 10-furlong listed scorer Classic Remark (by Dr Fong) and the potential Betfred Cesarewitch candidate Yorkidding (by Dalakhani). That Mark Johnston-trained four-year-old has won six times to date, she picked up some valuable blacktype when third in a 14-furlong listed contest at Baden-Baden on Saturday, and her entries include this Saturday's Listed Betway Stand Cup over an extended 12 furlongs at Chester.

Claxon, the grandam of Toulifaut, got her best win in the 10-furlong Group 2 Premio Lydia Tesio, she was also a dual listed scorer over that trip, and won a listed contest over a mile. Despite being a daughter of Caerleon (by Nijinsky) and out of a Bustino (by Busted) mare, she appeared to run out of stamina when fading to fifth behind Ramruma in the Group 1 Oaks at Epsom.

Her half-brother Bulwark (by Montjeu) certainly had no such stamina doubts as he was runner-up in the Group 3 Jockey Club Cup and third in both the Group 2 Henry II Stakes and Group 2 Yorkshire Cup.

​But the family is not all about stamina, and the sire can be influential in determining how much speed is evident.

Injaad (by Machiavellian), for example, is a half-sister to Claxon but is the dam of the stakes-winning sprinter Mutamarres (by Green Desert). Their dam, Bulaxie, won the Group 3 Fred Darling Stakes over seven furlongs but stayed 10, and that mare has two half-sisters by the Group 1 Prix du Jockey Club and Group 1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe star Suave Dancer (by Green Dancer) who have some interesting descendants.

Dust Flicker is one of pair, and although her daughter Sweepstake (by Acclamation) stayed a mile at three, her listed success came in the five-furlong National Stakes as a two-year-old. The other one is Dust Dancer, who won the Group 3 Prix de la Nonette over 10 furlongs and stayed 12.

Her daughter Spotlight (by Dr Fong) was a Grade 2 scorer over nine furlongs but narrowly beaten in a similar contest over a mile and a half, and her grand-daughter Counterclaim (by Pivotal) was runner-up in the Group 2 Oaks d'Italia. But she is also the grandam of Zoffany (by Dansili) and Wilshire Boulevard (by Holy Roman Emperor).

The latter won the Group 3 Anglesey Stakes and was runner-up in the Group 2 Gimcrack Stakes, and the former is, of course, the juvenile six-furlong Group 1 star who was runner-up to Frankel in the Group 1 St James's Palace Stakes at three before going on to become a leading young stallion for the Coolmore team.

Toulifaut, however, has already won over a mile and the indications are that she will stay middle-distances as a three-year-old. There are no guarantees, of course, and right now she is just a thrice-raced Group 3-winning juvenile, but if she does reach the top and become a leading French classic filly in 2017 then, given the distance ranges shown by some of her relations, the Prix Vermeille and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe could be targets.

As for Frankel, it looks long odds-on that he will have at least one Group 1 winner to his name by the time his first three-year-olds are finished their 2017 campaigns, and increasingly likely that the initial one could happen within the next few months.

The small number of Frankel (by Galileo) yearlings that turned up at the sales in 2015 met with a mixed response. They did not look how some had expected, prices varied widely, and there were even some mutterings about how he might not make it as a sire.

This was something of a surprise to see and hear. Here was a regally-related supreme athlete whose offspring came from the cream of the broodmare population and who would probably not even have a runner until the following summer.

His racing and pedigree profile suggested that it could be mid-summer or autumn before his early representatives would begin to show their worth, and that any stakes or pattern horses he might get that first season would tend to come from among the seven and eight-furlong events.

What Frankel has actually achieved with his first juveniles has been unexpected. His strike-rate of winners to runners is remarkably high, he already had two pattern scorers on the books before the end of August, and some of those early ones are precocious, and very quick.

Although there is a lot of middle-distance stamina in his family, there has always been the chance that Frankel could get some sprinters, with the right mares. He gave the impression that he could have won over seven or even six furlongs if asked, and both his dam, Kind (by Danehill), and half-sister, Joyeuse (by Oasis Dream), were talented sprinters who stayed seven furlongs.

But getting sprinters and getting early-season juveniles are not the same thing, because many good sprinters are horses who improve with time and maturity.

Frankel was off the mark in mid-May, and it was on 3rd June that his daughter Queen Kindly made her racing debut. The appearance of such a beautifully bred filly that early was eye-catching, and if there was any disappointment that this debut run was only in a five-furlong event at Catterick, that dissipated after she showed a nice turn of foot to score by five lengths.

The Group 3 Albany Stakes was her Royal Ascot target a fortnight later, and third place, beaten by just a short-head and half-length by Brave Anna and Bletchley, confirmed that this was a filly of plentiful potential. The following month she had little more than an exercise gallop to thrash a small field in a novice event back over the minimum trip at Catterick, giving 7lbs to each of her four outclassed rivals.

A return to six furlongs was on the cards and it came in the recent Group 2 Sky Bet Lowther Stakes at York. Unbeaten Group 3 scorer Fair Eva, who was Frankel's first pattern winner, was sent off at odds-on but ran as already needing a bit further. Queen Kindly landed the spoils by three-parts of a length from Group 2 scorer Roly Poly (gave 3lbs), with Fair Eva the same margin back in third.

The trio pulled four and a half lengths clear of the Group 3 Sweet Solera Stakes winner Nations Alexander, with Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes third Clem Fandango finishing sixth. Kilmah, who chased home Fair Eva in the Group 3 Princess Margaret Stakes on her previous start, and who won the Group 3 Prestige Stakes at Goodwood yesterday, was only seventh on this occasion, with the Group 2-placed Magical Fire disappointing in last.

The form looks solid, the time was fast, Fair Eva will be seen to better effect when she steps up in trip, and Queen Kindly now has a crack at the Group 1 Connolly's Red Mills Cheveley Park Stakes in her sights.

There is still so much of 2016 to go, but it is hard not to look ahead with these juveniles and wonder about their prospects in 2017. Will Queen Kindly follow in her father's hoof-prints and become a miler and Guineas contender, or will she take after her dam and so become a potential Commonwealth Cup and July Cup runner, or even a Nunthorpe candidate?

Before she ever stepped foot on a racecourse one could even have speculated as to her prospects of staying 10 furlongs at three, because she is, after all, a daughter of Frankel and related to the Group 1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe hero Dylan Thomas (by Danehill).

That sort of trip seems unlikely given the speed and precocity she has shown so far, and a mile still remains possible, but those two five-furlong wins may turn out to be the most important clue.

Queen Kindly is trained by Richard Fahey, she was bred by Rabbah Bloodstock Ltd, and she is the first foal out of their excellent sprinter Lady Of The Desert (by Rahy). That mare could have been expected to be a miler, and it is true that she was only beaten by about a length when fifth in the Group 1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches (French 1000 Guineas), but it was over five and six furlongs that she excelled.

Her winning debut over the minimum trip at Leicester in late May was followed by a sixth-place finish in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes, but she bounced back to take the Group 3 Princess Margaret Stakes and Group 2 Lowther Stakes before finishing third behind Special Duty in the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes. That filly is the incredibly lucky one who got not one but two classics in the stewards' room as a three-year-old.

Lady Of The Desert was placed over seven furlongs first time out at three, but after disappointing in the Group 1 Coronation Stakes at Ascot, dropped back to six for the Group 1 Sprint Cup at Haydock. Having chased home Markab there, she went on to score a two and a quarter-length success in the Group 2 Diadem Stakes at Ascot before chasing home one-length scorer Gilt Edge Girl in the Group 1 Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp on her final start.

Lady Of The Desert is the best of the progeny of 2001's juvenile filly champion Queen's Logic (by Grand Lodge) and that star is one of three Group 1 winners out of a placed mare called Lagrion (by Diesis).

Her debut was on soft ground at Newbury in mid May, when she beat the subsequent pattern-winning sprinter Lady Dominatrix by three-parts of a length and the pair finished 10 lengths clear of their closest pursuer.

She then beat Sophisticat three times, first by half a length in the Group 3 Queen Mary Stakes, then by one and a quarter lengths in the Group 2 Lowther Stakes and finally by seven lengths on soft ground in the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes. Although that rival went on to take the Group 1 Coronation Stakes at Ascot the following summer, Queen's Logic's career had already come to an end by that point.

Her sole outing at three was an odds-on success in the Group 3 Fred Darling Stakes over seven furlongs on fast ground at Newbury.

Queen's Logic has four blacktype siblings and the best of her sisters is the runaway Group 1 1000 Guineas heroine Homecoming Queen (by Holy Roman Emperor), whose first foal is the unbeaten French juvenile First Of Spring (by Galileo). Her sisters also include Group 2 Blandford Stakes third Love To Dance (by Sadler's Wells) and Group 1 Oaks runner-up Remember When (by Danehill Dancer), neither of whom actually won a race.

Remember When, who was beaten just a neck by Snow Fairy at Epsom and by a total of half a length when fourth to Bethrah in the Group 1 Irish 1000 Guineas, has made an outstanding start to her broodmare career as her first two progeny are Wedding Vow (by Galileo) and Beacon Rock (by Galileo).

The former won last year's Group 2 Kilboy Estate Stakes shortly before chasing home Legatissimo in the Group 1 Nassau Stakes at Goodwood, and the latter won the Group 3 Gallinule Stakes in May before chasing home Across The Stars in the Group 2 King Edward VII Stakes at Ascot.

The best of Queen's Logic's brothers is the aforementioned Group 1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe hero Dylan Thomas. His 10 wins from 20 starts netted him over £3.3 million in prize money and his Group 1 tally also included the Irish Derby, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, Prix Ganay, and two editions of the Irish Champion Stakes.

Dylan Thomas is a Coolmore stallion, and although he is standing as a dual-purpose sire, his progeny include the Group/Grade 1 scorers Pether's Moon, Dylan Mouth, Nymphea, Tannery and Blazing Speed, the latter a Hong Kong star whose earnings surpass those of his sire.

It is these first two generations of the pedigree that are making the greatest contribution to the talent and potential of Queen Kindly, and although there is talent in the third and fourth too, it is not in the same league.

Lagrion, her third dam, is a full-sister to the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes runner-up Pure Genius (by Diesis), and fourth dam Wrap It Up (by Mount Hagen), a daughter of the blacktype-placed 10-times scorer Doc Nan (by Francis S.), was responsible for the Group 3 Oaks Trial Stakes winner Gift Wrapped (by Wolver Hollow).

That filly became the dam of the Group 2 Royal Lodge Stakes winner Reach (by Kris) and of Wrapping (by Kris), the Group 1 Oaks d'Italia runner-up who gave us the Group 1-placed middle-distance Group 2 scorer Papering (by Shaadi).

Amatrice (by Appiani), a half-sister to Gift Wrapped, did her part for the family by coming up with Soluce (by Junius), the Group 3 scorer from whom Scandinavian champion Entangle (by Pivotal) and notable speedsters such as Splice (by Sharpo), Soar (by Danzero), and Feet So Fast (by Pivotal) descend, among others of note.

Those horses are remotely connected to Queen Kindly and it is her immediate genetic history that will determine her ultimate distance range. Whether that will be in sprints or over a mile, or a combination of both, remains to be seen, but whichever way she goes there is every reason to hope that this first-crop daughter of Frankel could be a Group 1 filly in the making.

As for Frankel, there remains the very real prospect that he can become an important sire of milers and middle-distance horses, a potential classic sire who could become a leading international stallion.

If his career fulfils the promise with which it has started, then future horse racing quizzes may include the question 'who was Frankel's first stakes winner?' The answer is Fair Eva, and she was an impressive winner of the Group 3 Princess Margaret Juddmonte Stakes over six furlongs at Ascot on Saturday.

His remarkable early strike-rate has been drawing rave reviews, but it is, of course, much too early yet to know if the great horse can become even half the stallion his mighty sire is, or grandsire was. What is exciting, though, is that his racing and pedigree profile would suggest that he would be more likely to notch up a string of juvenile winners in the second half of the season than in the first, and yet we have seen some precocious sorts, and even five-furlong speed.

Fair Eva was the first of the Juddmonte Farm-bred Frankels to reach the track and she made a four-length winning debut over six furlongs at Haydock in early June. The white-faced chestnut is trained by Roger Charlton, her pattern success was achieved by the same margin, and she is already an ante-post market leader for next year's Group 1 1000 Guineas.

Before then, races such as the Group 2 Sky Bet Lowther Stakes, the Group 2 Debutante Stakes and/or the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes could be on her agenda – she holds entries in each of those prestigious events – and if she is still a prominent classic prospect by the end of the year, then the issue of her potential stamina limitations is a debate that may play out over the winter.

Frankel (by Galileo) was bred to be effective from a mile to 12 furlongs, his most breathtaking performances came over the shorter distance, and he was never asked to go beyond the extended 10 furlongs of the Juddmonte International Stakes. There was no need to try farther, and his exuberant personality made the Derby distance a potential problem early in his career, but there is no reason to suggest that, as a four-year-old, it would have been beyond him.

The three 12-furlong blacktype wins of his full-brother Noble Mission featured the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, their three-parts brother Bullet Train (by Sadler's Wells) got his sole pattern success in the 11 and a half-furlong Group 3 Derby Trial Stakes at Lingfield, and their Group 3 Lancashire Oaks-winning grandam, Rainbow Lake (by Rainbow Quest), produced Powerscourt (by Sadler's Wells), Riposte (by Dansili) and Last Train (by Rail Link), each of whom stayed the distance, or more.

Noble Mission and Bullet Train, who stand in the US, look likely to specialise in milers and middle-distance horses, but Frankel could get his best over a wider range, from sprinters and upwards, and if they include the plethora of pattern and Group 1 stars that we hope will emerge, then an ability to get everything from precocious juveniles to middle-distance and staying older horses will boost his prospects of taking high rank in the sires' championship title races of the future.

His dam is the stakes-winning sprinter Kind (by Danehill), whose five-furlong ability clearly came from her sire rather than from the distaff side of her family. We cannot know if it was she or Galileo (by Sadler's Wells) who passed on the speed influence to their great son, but if Frankel passes on that pace to his offspring then those who are out of speed-bred mares could include include some sprinters. If it is his stamina influence that is transmitted, however, then those same mares could get mile to 10 furlong horses by him.

This is part of what makes Fair Eva, and Frankel's pattern-placed dual five-furlong scorer Queen Kindly, intriguing; both are out of sprinters yet come from families with a proven history of getting middle-distance horses.

Fair Eva is the fourth foal out the Group 1 Sprint Cup heroine African Rose, a daughter of the excellent miler Observatory (by Distant View). The mare was runner-up in the Group 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest, and she finished third in the one-mile Group 3 Prix d'Aumale as a juvenile, the latter a performance that offers hope of her rising star staying that far too.

African Rose's son Hakka (by Dansili) won twice over eight and a half furlongs at Wolverhampton, was placed over 10 furlongs, and rated 94 before his export to Saudi Arabia. Her full-sister Helleborine was also effective at a mile, winning the Group 3 Prix d'Aumale by five lengths and chasing home Misty For Me in the Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac.

New Orchid, the grandam of Fair Eva, was third in the Group 3 Lancashire Oaks, a distance not unexpected of a daughter of Derby hero Quest For Fame (by Rainbow Quest), and in addition to being a half-sister to the dam of the Group 2 Prix Chaudenay winner Canticum (by Cacique), her siblings include the juvenile star Distant Music (by Distant View).

That horse and African Rose are closely related, and although his wins in the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes, Group 2 Champagne Stakes and Group 2 International Stakes may be what first come to mind about him, it should not be forgotten that he chased home Kalanisi and Montjeu in the Group 1 Champion Stakes at Newmarket, with Oaks heroine Love Divine the one who followed him across the line in fourth.

His dam, Musicanti (by Nijinsky), is out of the dual US winner Populi (by Star Envoy), and that makes her a half-sister to 1985's US champion older male Vanlandingham (by Cox's Ridge), winner of the Jockey Club Gold Cup, Washington DC International, Suburban Handicap and Stephen Foster Handicap – all Grade 1. Her siblings also include the dam of the Group 1-placed mile and 10-furlong Group/Grade 2 scorer Kirkwall (by Selkirk), and as she was out of the three-times winner Sister Shannon (by Etonian), that made her a half-sister to Temperence Hill.

That son of Stop The Music (by Hail To Reason) won 11 of his 31 starts, earned over $1.5 million, was the US champion three-year-old colt of 1980, and got his Grade 1 wins in the Belmont Stakes, Travers Stakes, Jockey Club Gold Cup, and Suburban Handicap.

With all of this in mind, there is clearly a high degree of probability that Fair Eva will stay the mile. If she can stay farther and can become an Oaks filly then it is more likely, however, to be Chantilly's 10 and a half furlong Prix de Diane that would be within her range than the full 12 furlongs at Epsom or the Curragh.