THE great unwashed who care little for horseracing have been known to observe that “it is just a bunch of horses running around a field.” We should feel sorry for them, perhaps, for, at its best, the sport is a deliciously nuanced one in which potential vies with achievement and supreme athletic ability meets head-on with split-second decision-making.

As showcases go, last Saturday’s QIPCO 2000 Guineas at Newmarket was one of the best imaginable. All the main contenders had achieved plenty, but potential was represented more by Barney Roy, Al Wukair and Eminent, while achievement was represented more by Churchill.