IF, as I would maintain, the appeal of horseracing is as much in the hope and the anticipation as in the realisation, then this is one of the best times of year on the flat. Anyone who has a young horse, or an ante-post bet on a young horse, is entitled to dream, at least until such time as reality bites.

The first shots have been fired in some horses’ classic campaigns, and arguably no individual has impressed more than the Aidan O’Brien-trained Orderofthegarter, who followed a fast-time win in a maiden at Naas with another in the Leopardstown 2000 Guineas Trial on Saturday.