PERHAPS it’s a sign of how infrequently we get any hint of public needle between major personalities in horse racing that Aidan O’Brien’s comments on ‘whinging’ from John Gosden got people so excited last week. I, for one, am all for it.

In case you missed it, speaking at an Irish Champions Festival press morning from Ballydoyle, O’Brien made his intentions clear that he wanted to see Ombudsman running at Leopardstown this weekend for a Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes rematch with Delacroix, though he also took the opportunity to share a word on his rival trainer.

Before official news came that Godophin’s Juddmonte International hero was going to miss the €1.5 million feature at Leopardstown, here’s what O’Brien told Racing TV.

“We really want Ombudsman to come, absolutely. Sheikh Mohammed is probably the greatest sportsman the world has ever seen. John is a great trainer. He whinges a little bit, but he’s a great trainer. Sometimes when John gets beat, he doesn’t always take it very well - [and] even when he wins.”

O’Brien added: "But that’s good fun, and that’s the way it is. We take it in fun. It’s sport, at the end of the day. It’s not important or serious, but obviously we still want to be as competitive as we can and we want to try to win.

“It would make it a great spectacle if John and Thady did decide to come. I’m sure Sheikh Mohammed would be delighted, as would our people: John and Sue [Magnier], Derrick and Gay [Smith], Michael and Doreen [Tabor]. They would only absolutely love it.”

There was nothing malicious or aggressive in what O’Brien said, yet, if Ombudsman turned up, the comments would have added a healthy level of spice to the Irish Champion Stakes in terms of the rivalry between the horses, yards and ownership groups involved. That surely must be welcomed when it comes to hyping up on Ireland’s premier weekend of flat action. We need that bit of x-factor.

Case in point, I am not a follower of Formula 1 racing, yet I have watched a number of interviews over the last 12 months popping up on my social media feed of drivers blowing off steam at one another in media interviews (it usually involves a chippy Max Verstappen!). My interest in the sport is extremely limited, but the show of personality and emotion easily increases the likelihood of me keeping a brief eye on how the F1 championship unfolds. It humanises the sport.

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If nothing else, these interactions can be entertaining too. They’re an easy way for people to get introduced to narratives in any sporting competition.

On that note, the NFL season returned stateside last weekend, and the press conference with 41-year-old Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (after beating his old team, the New York Jets) probably got as much attention on US television as the actual game highlights.

Instead of trying to downplay the significance of beating the team who told him they no longer wanted his services during the summer, Rodgers told the press contingent: “I was happy to beat everybody associated with the Jets… There were probably people in the organization that didn't think I could play anymore. So, it was nice to remind those people that I still can.”

Isn’t that so much more relatable and downright interesting to hear from a Hall Of Fame-calibre player than a stock answer to diffuse animosity? It’s refreshing, and more of it in racing would liven up things now and then. Giving fans something more to chew on than simply the outcome of a match or race is definitely of benefit when it comes to driving up interest in sport.

But back to the O’Brien-Gosden back and forth. Whatever you make of the comments from Ballydoyle, the tone of what followed from Gosden when announcing Ombudsman wasn’t running at Leopardstown didn’t resonate as being in the same spirit as the Delacroix camp’s rallying call.

“The Irish Champion Stakes is a race that our stable has won four times,” Gosden told the Racing Post, among his explanations for skipping the Irish Champions Festival.

“Obviously, it would not be in the best interests of Ombudsman to race in September nor would the horse appreciate running against multiple entries from one stable on a track with a short straight.”

Those comments couldn’t be taken as the most sporting, even if there have been stiff challenges down the years for visiting runners when coming to the Leopardstown lion’s den. Economics proved last year, however, that if you’re good enough, it can be done.

The next round between Delacroix and Ombudsman might be off the cards, but we haven’t seen the last chance for O’Brien and the Gosdens to do battle between now and the end of the season. More heart-on-sleeve comments from connections ahead of our big races is something we should encourage, into the campaign’s closing months and beyond.