WHILE not normally a fan of Roy Keane’s management style, something strange happened last Sunday, on what was widely proclaimed an “historic day for Irish sport,” I seemed to have been afflicted with the Cork man’s mood.

What do you mean, historic day, what have we won? Nothing. What are we off celebrating for?

To use that oft used preface in sporting explanations, at the end of the day, by Sunday evening, we were in the same positions as at the beginning.

We are in the Euro Football playoffs, and into the quarter finals of the Rugby World Cup. We expected no less but much tougher tasks lie ahead. We might just have got carried away in the possibilities rather than the reality.

There also was a considerable amount of hype in the build up to the Dewhurst Stakes. But at least here, we got what appeared to be an outstanding winner.

But then, in the wake of all the praise, the “I Keano” complex raised it’s head again. What did he beat? Emotionless was injured and his Champagne Stakes form took a knock earlier. Sanus Per Aquam didn’t act on the track. Nobody had mentioned Massaat and Tashweeq as top two-year-old material before hand. Is Air Force Blue just the best around but not yet outstanding?

On the plus side, the rating gurus were impressed by the Dewhurst run. On the track, Air Force Blue has proven he has everything that you would want in a two-year-old champion.

He has raced from May to October (Gleneagles has just managed a month and a half, May to mid-June). Air Force Blue took in Royal Ascot on good to firm ground, progressed each time he ran and followed up with three Group 1 wins in a row. He proved his ability to cope with much softer ground in the National Stakes at the Curragh. His temperament appears perfect and he also has the size and scope to improve physically as a three-year-old.

The Aidan O’Brien ‘best ever’ quotes in recent years are readily available and perhaps we’ve got to the stage where less is more. After more than 20 years of top horses, from Galileo onwards, who all accumulated top prizes without any hype, how much better can the most recent ones be compared to those who went before?

Camelot was “almost too good to be true… he was special with the way he looked.” Australia - “I thought Camelot was the best horse we had for the Derby, but this horse is another step up. I’ve never had a horse like this.”

Gleneagles was “the best miler we’ve had” so although many of the rating experts agree Air Force Blue hit the targets of recent Dewhurst winners, how much better is he likely to be?

His odds make little appeal for the 2000 Guineas but at the same time, it is rare for the 2000 Guineas winner not to have raced or even won in group company in his two-year-old season, Makfi being the only one in the last 10 years. With the other outstanding two-year-old Shalaa seemingly set for a sprint campaign, the way looks clear for Air Force Blue to glide to the Guineas. Even at 5/4, would you back Massaat, Foundation, Cymric or Ultra against him? Only Jim Bolger might still have something to say come Guineas day with Round Two, Herald The Dawn and Smash Williams all quoted around the 20/1 mark.