THERE are few events that I can say with certainty when they will be staged, apart from the obvious such as Christmas, my birthday and couple of others.

What I can tell you is that every time I get my new diary for the upcoming year, I can mark the weekend of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe without hesitation. The first Sunday in October is sacrosanct and heralds the staging of a race I regard as the ultimate challenge for the thoroughbred.