Henry Cecil is down but not out. Mind you if any of us had been up at 4am as he was on Wednesday we might have wanted to stretch out on the warm grass of Warren Hill as he waited for 3rd lot to come up the polytrack. 

The reason for the early start was to supervise one of the most crucial gallops mornings of the summer – one of the final work outs before the Cecil team hit Ascot.  Frankel and Twice Over were amongst four box loads taken across to the racecourse at 6 am.

The sun was bright, the horses worked great, the trainer was buzzing, jocks Queally, Quinn and Mongan were suitably keen. Mongan had left his home at Epsom at 4.30 am. “This is the highlight of my week,” he said from on board Twice Over, “he’s the best horse I have ever sat on and the build up to Ascot is the best time of year for flat racing.”