As a two-year-old she proved herself capable of competing against the leading French colts by winning the Prix de la Salamandre at Longchamp and being narrowly beaten in the Grand Critérium.
Never Too Late was a small chestnut filly bred by her owner Mrs Howell E. (Dorothy) Jackson's Bull Run Stud.
Never Too Late's dam, Gloria Nicky was the top-rated British two-year-old filly of 1954, when her wins included the Cheveley Park Stakes.
[3] Never Too Late began her three-year-old season in the Prix Imprudence at Maisons-Laffitte Racecourse, which she won impressively[4] by four lengths from Paola.
Poincelet held the favourite up towards the back of the field, and struggled to obtain a clear run before making his challenge on the outside in the straight.
As she moved up to the French-trained leader Paimpont, Never Too Late hung to the left and blocked the run of a third French filly, Imberline.
[3] After the race, Poincelet alleged that some of the British jockeys had deliberately hampered his progress on three separate occasions,[6] while Etienne Pollet claimed that the filly would have won by six lengths with a clear run.