Havana hasn’t just come close, he’s already got the cigar despite humble origins

"A working class hero is something to be" philosophised John Lennon, and the breeders who supported Havana Grey in his first four seasons at stud would concur.

Whitsbury Manor Stud's sire of 22 stakes winners – 11 of them at Group level – from just three crops of racing age, has left his origins behind him and will stand this year for a private fee, with height restrictions on the mares selected, to protect the diminutive rocket's health.

Last year he stood for an elevated fee of £55,000 and covered 139 mares, many of whom will have been on a different level from those who helped him to reach this rarefied plane.