Shortly afterwards, a private sale was arranged by the trainer Fred Butters,[1] acting on the advice of his more famous elder brother Frank,[2] and the colt entered the ownership of Lettice Miller (officially Mrs G. B.

At Newmarket on October 13 Mid-day Sun recorded his first win when carrying a light weight in a one-mile Nursery (a handicap race for two-year-olds).

[4] On his three-year-old debut, Mid-day Sun won the Free Handicap at Newmarket in April, receiving six pounds from the filly Exhibitionnist.

On his next start, Mid-day Sun proved himself capable of competing with the best colts by finishing third of the eighteen runners behind Le Ksar and Goya in the 2000 Guineas.

Mid-day Sun produced a “dazzling run”[8] to move through the middle of the group, and pass Le Grand Duc inside the final furlong.

Mrs Miller called the result "the moment of my life" before explaining that she would prefer to celebrate with "a cup of tea" followed by a quiet dinner with her husband and mother.

[10] Mid-day Sun was then sent to Royal Ascot where he was matched against leading older horses including the American-bred Flares in the Hardwicke Stakes.

[16] In their book A Century of Champions, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Mid-day Sun on 126, making him a “poor” Derby winner.