Too Darn Hot winning Saturday's Dewhurst Stakes© Photo Healy Racing
We're all going to hell in a handcart, either because the planet's turning into a microwave, or a moron flimflam merchant in the White House, not to mention the benighted lunacy that is Brexit. It's a big picture to make racing's tiny self-absorbed bit seem especially trivial. None of which will stop those of us in thrall to the thoroughbred feeling the simple joy of pondering how Too Darn Hot might transform from exceptional two year old into the real classic deal next year.
Of course that presumes a lot. Like we haven't all been melted into Boris Johnson figurines by then. And obviously getting hot under the collar about two year olds is the sort of mug 'futures' betting a failed casino magnate like Trump jumps all over. If you need convincing then take your pick from the mix of Arazi, Xaar, Storm Bird and perhaps still the king daddy of all classic flops, Apalachee.
Ordinarily one would say there's no point getting older unless you get a little wiser. But anyone looking to racing for wisdom will be looking a long time. If the supreme triviality of one thoroughbred running faster than another isn't about dreams then it's about nothing. And Too Darn Hot is a thoroughbred to dream of.
That was a two year old performance to rank with any the Rowley Mile has ever seen. It wasn't Nijinsky smooth or Frankel imperious. That's mainly because he did so much wrong. But as a single exhibition of raw running ability it takes some topping. So the inevitable daydream will be of what this colt might do if he does everything right.
Because what the Dewhurst indicated is that Too Darn Hot is unlikely to ever be some Air Force Blue who fails to match substance with style when push comes to shove. After pulling hard for much of the first couple of furlongs, on ground widely feared to be too fast for him, and having to be pulled wide of the field coming into the dip, most of us must have thought this would be another Expert Eye-type flop.
Not since New Approach's Derby victory a decade ago can I recall a horse doing so much wrong in a big race and still winning. But it wasn't only winning. It was ultimately doing so in a style that was Zafonic-like. Dettori got to go full gurn in the closing stages. More importantly Too Darn Hot went through the line like he'd just done a stiff bit of work.
Maybe the form will ultimately not amount to whole pile although on the face of it beating a Group One winner and a Group One runner up hardly looks too shabby. But this was all about one colt. If his yearling brother is worth 3.5Gns million then Too Darn Hot can right now be looked upon as pretty much priceless.
In cold handicap terms that Dewhurst performance should guarantee he wins champion two year old status by daylight. And although it might strike some as heresy such figures might even see him eclipse Frankel. He earned a 126 rating in 2010 when he shared championship status with Dream Ahead. So if you can't dream happy winter thoughts about such a horse then this game isn't for you.
It beats the hell out of contemplating cold political reality although Horse Racing Ireland enjoyed a budget boost last week with €3.2 million more from government for 2019.
It also got its way in relation to a doubling of the betting tax rate, no bad result considering failure to get it last year prodded the former HRI chairman into publicly suggesting some of the cabinet required a courage transfusion. So clearly no hard feelings there then.
Quite how much of an increased dividend the tax hike produces will be interesting to examine from a theoretical point of view although it won't be much practical use to the 1,500 independent betting shop workers it threatens to put out of a job. From a government point of view this looked a simple 'show me the money' tot which was obviously enthusiastically endorsed by HRI.
Initial reaction was to recall Lenin's old line about everything being connected to everything else, and whether or not shutting betting shops is a savvy move when so much of Irish racing's finances are bound up in flogging picture rights to bookmakers. But when you see that 85 per cent of turnover is with just three companies maybe that isn't a major consideration after all.
It's cold comfort though to those facing unemployment and independent bookmakers operating against massive conglomerates.
HRI's aim now appears to be a return to the good old five-year-plan days when longer term planning was the norm' rather than hanging on the annual budgetary whims of the Department of Finance. Similar arrangements in future are now described as a realistic target so once again it's only fair to acknowledge how when it comes to winkling out government money, HRI is rarely found wanting.
However what it does with extra guaranteed funding will be the most accurate indication of the ruling body's priorities. If, in the current climate, top priority isn't given to financing the sort of measures necessary to restore Irish racing's regulatory credibility it will be a clear signal to everybody about the industry's intentions. It should be a no-brainer considering such restoration ultimately pays off for everyone.
Last week three more 'winners' were thrown out after positive drug tests. There was nothing sinister about any of them. Rather they appear to be further evidence of working practises catching up with a new testing reality. These are embarrassing in the short term. But they're welcome if indicating long-term progress towards a better medication environment.
And that will be vital in whatever post-Brexit reality unfolds. But if there's no deal - and the political temperature appears to be heading that way - it will be a stark, immediate and titanic logistical problem which many within racing and the bloodstock industry generally probably still don't fully appreciate yet.
Decades of the Tripartite agreement makes the prospect of convoluted border checks and tariffs seem unreal when it comes to transporting thoroughbreds. But it's what will happen if political posturing sees a spirit of reactionary English nationalism actually jump off the economic cliff hoping to land in some phoney daft monochrome 1950's idyll.
Irish and British racing have always been joined at the hip but Ireland stands to lose a lot more out of this. If you doubt that then just examine how Irish racing's biggest meeting of year takes place in Gloucestershire each March. Then ponder how Gloucestershire returned a split vote on the 2016 Brexit referendum. This really is edge of the seat stuff. Considering how it got to this makes one even more grateful for the little things.
