Having been rated the third best British two-year-old of his generation he went on to greater success as a three-year-old the following year when he won a wartime substitute version of The Derby and finished second in both the 2000 Guineas and the "New" St Leger.
With many racecourses used by the military or considered dangerous due to their proximity to major population centres, races were either cancelled or moved away from their traditional venues.
The main races of Doncaster's St Leger meeting in September were also rescheduled and the Champagne Stakes was run at Newbury in late June.
[3] On his final start of the season, Watling Street ran disappointingly to finish fourth in the Middle Park Stakes behind the King's filly Sun Chariot.
[4] In the Free Handicap, a ranking of the season's best two-year-olds, Watling Street was given a rating of 130 pounds, placing him third behind Sun Chariot (133) and Big Game (133).
With Epsom Downs Racecourse out of use, the substitute "New Derby Stakes" was run on the July course at Newmarket on 13 June in front of a crowd which included the King and Queen.