KEITH Donoghue sat down in Paul Carberry’s house to watch the opening race of the Cheltenham Festival last year. He had an uneasy feeling.

He had been telling anyone willing to listen to him that Labaik would win the Supreme Novice Hurdle, that the grey was a seriously talented horse. A lot of people laughed at him. By now Labaik was well known to the racing public as a bit of a rogue. He refused to race three times already in the season and most bookmakers would have had him odds on to the same at Cheltenham.