Unlike Java's War, we haven't been privy to another racecourse appearance to be able to gauge by what degree he has improved.
Immortal Verse had been withdrawn at the start in the 1,000 Guineas, before an anonymous run in the French version, but had since impressed at another racecourse with a royal history, Chantilly.
Although he was only eight, it was almost three years since he had beaten another horse on a racecourse and his fragile legs would be required to carry 12 stone on soft ground.
"And then, when it was agreed for us to take on the club, the Football Conference asked for a £250,000 bond which we had to raise within five days of the season starting, " recalls Jones, who combines chairing WST with another voluntary role at the Racecourse, that of club historian.
Horse racing on the town common was prohibited in 1788, and the racecourse was rebuilt in another part of town.
In the next few weeks, state legislators are expected to authorise a terrestrial casino in the Chicago area, expand racecourse betting and open another riverboat casino on top of the nine in operation.
But Istabraq enjoys an occasional day trip – last Thursday there was an outing to Leopardstown racecourse, where he joined Danoli, another old Cheltenham hero, for a fund-raising event in support of cancer research.
Aside from learning a new racecourse, they will be facing another challenge: the Singapore Grand Prix will be the first race in Formula One's 58-year history to be held at night.
A week later, half-back Ernie Braidwood netted his first of the season as the team secured another 1 1 draw away at Wrexham's Racecourse Ground.
The racecourse proposal is seen by many as another way to achieve that goal, as well as to show that "its writ still runs in Mumbai," as Prakash Akolkar, author of a book on the Shiv Sena, told a local paper.
It will be another year or two before we see which one is more successful on the racecourse.
