In 1937 Mid-day Sun became the first winner of the Derby on the Epsom course to score in the colours of a woman (Gainsboroughs win was a war-time substitute at Newmarket). As a two year old he was sluggish and only won once in eight outings. It was thought that he would be no more than a good staying handicapper. He came on by leaps and bounds during the winter and as a three year old his Derby, a win at Royal Ascot and places in the 2000 Guineas and the St Leger stamped him as one of the best of his generation. After failing to come up to scratch as a stallion in this country, partly due to the war which restricted the number of mares available to him, Mid-day Sun was exported to New Zealand in 1950, where he died in 1954.