Racing's reputation has taken a battering since the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic first started to be felt. A lot of the flak has been grossly unfair. But the old political maxim applies about denials meaning you've lost the point already. So now is as good a time as any to proclaim how this is a great game with centuries of tradition behind it and an appeal sure to endure long into the future.

Recording my first winner on the track in a race of the status of the Randox Ulster National at Downpatrick hasn’t really sunk in yet.