Five international breakthrough horses to win in England

In an age when it simply was not possible to shuttle horses to and from big international races, the achievement of Iroquois, bred in Pennsylvania and foaled at Aristides Welch's Erdenheim Stud farm in 1878, nevertheless stands out.

The colt's owner, Pierre Lorillard IV, was an heir to a huge tobacco fortune whose hobby was racing. He was also particularly drawn to the progeny of Leamington, the sire of Iroquois, and to the concept and kudos value of winning big races in England.

In 1880, having won a series of English races with his first notable traveller, Parole, Lorillard sent a second group, which included the two-year-old Iroquois.

He won four English races as a juvenile, and the following spring was placed in the 2000 Guineas. But when Epsom came along, and thanks to the skills of champion jockey Fred Archer on board, Iroquois went on to reverse form with the Newmarket winner Peregrine in the Derby.

In 1883, he returned to the USA to win three more important stakes races and had lit a flame in the hearts of all those seeking to win big away from home

Bred in Kentucky, Agnes World was a son of Danzig who must have looked good at a young age: he was sold for more than $US1million as a yearling, despite having a dam whose best racecourse performance was a third in York's Musidora Stakes.

Racing for owner Takao Watanabe in Japan, Agnes World won three of his four races at two, including a Grade Three but missed almost the whole of the 1998 season with injury.

In 1999, aged four, he came into winning form in the summer in Japan before shipping to France to win the Prix de l'Abbaye at Longchamp in October.

The following year, he once again embarked on a European campaign but this time the destination was England and a twin-pronged assault taking in Ascot's King's Stands Stakes (in which he was second) and Newmarket's July Cup.

Ridden by Yutaka Taka, Agnes World was made favourite by the knowledgeable HQ punters and went on to beat Michael Jarvis's Lincoln Dancer by a short-head.

Yukio Nakayama, speaking on behalf of the Japan Racing Association, said afterwards: "It was 130 years ago that the British people introduced horseracing to Japan. We have imported many, many horses from here, and now we have won a race here."

Choisir, now an important stallion, became a trailblazer on several levels in one heady week in June some 14 years ago.

At a time when England's cricketers were routinely thrashed by their Aussie rivals, Choisir was not only the first Australian horse to win on British shores, the four-year-old sprinter was also the first Royal Ascot winner to be trained outside Europe.

But that was not all. Having won the fiercely competitive five-furlong King's Stand Stakes at the start of the meeting - in which he was given an outsider's chance at 25-1 - he nonchalantly returned to the track four days later to collect the Golden Jubilee Stakes over an extra furlong.

Trained by Paul Perry, Choisir was ridden in both his Ascot wins by that big-race technician par excellence; Johnny Murtagh.

Murtagh said in a recent interview: "Choisir was right up there with the best sprinters - great speed, great gate speed and strong. Now that I'm a trainer I'd love to have a few of them in the yard! He had a great engine and loved Ascot. The course really played to his strengths."

Arguably, no transcontinental raider in racing history has done so much to knock down the perceived barriers in travelling horses to far-away places.

The American trainer Wesley Ward is now well known for his ability to win Royal Ascot races with precociously talented two-year-olds who are frequently more physically imposing than their European equivalents.

But the story had to start somewhere and it was on June 16, 2009 when that year's renewal of the Windsor Castle Stakes became the first race ever at the Queen's favourite meeting to go to a US-trained horse.

Ward brought five juveniles to England that year along with a four-year-old sprinter, Cannonball, who was only sixth in the King's Stand Stakes. Punters perhaps took that result as a sign not to take Ward's runners too seriously: Strike The Tiger was allowed to go off at 33-1 in the Windsor Castle the same day.

Drawn close to the middle in stall seven, Strike The Tiger powered out of the gates under Johnny Velazquez. Asked for a serious effort at the two-furlong pole, he had to be pretty brave to see off the closers to win the race by a neck.

Ward said afterwards: "It’s great to prove that you can bring a horse over from America and be competitive here and I hope this win will open doors.

"This was a great race for me to win, but I know it is not one of the strongest here and hopefully my better two-year-olds can go on and do well later this week."

Ward had to wait only 24 hours for another Royal Ascot winner: Jealous Again won the Queen Mary by the small matter of five lengths, while Cannonball backed up second in the Golden Jubilee. Jealous Again was bought by Godolphin that October and never raced again, while Strike The Tiger was winless in three subsequent races in the US.

Whether through its two big ownership groups Qatar Racing and Al Shaqab Racing, or the heavyweight sponsorship it provides under those banners as well as Qipco, the nation of Qatar invests heavily in British Flat racing.

It is important, therefore, that horses owned by Qataris get some return from the support given by Sheikh Fahad, Sheikh Joaan and various other members of the Al Thani family.

On one summer's afternoon in 2015, the best possible outcome came to fruition when Dubday, the highest-rated horse in Qatar, won the Group Three Glorious Stakes. Ridden by Frankie Dettori, he held off 15-8 favourite The Corsican by three quarters of a length in the silver and maroon Al Shaqab colours made most famous by dual Arc winner Treve.

Al Shaqab had three winners in all that day in Sussex but the five-year-old Dubday, who went to stud last year, was by far the most poignant.

Trainer Jassim Al Ghazali said afterwards: "Dubday is a champion in Qatar and is a favourite for so many people. It is special to win today's race under the name of the Qatar Goodwood Festival. I give this winner for all of my country and I say thank you to Sheikh Joaan for giving me the chance to come here to run horses.”