Blue skies follow thunder and rain for trainer who has beaten lean times

On racing's biggest stages, with the spotlight on and the crowd enthralled, there is a sense of certainty about the sport that has the ability to reassure. After all, these are the proving grounds for the great and the good, and they're different from you and me.

Except, as we've recently learned from Mark Johnston, the road to the top can be potholed with desperation; for all the front-page plaudits afforded the big names, there may well have been many moments of soul-searching and self doubt. David Menuisier has not yet trained 4,194 winners, but he has known the dark side of training racehorses.

His partner Kim Johnstone has been with him through the worst of times, and she leaves no doubt as to the precarious nature of the route to York last month, when their stable star Thundering Blue, already a Group 2 winner on the Knavesmire, ran on boldly to be third in the Juddmonte International, setting up what may well be a glorious end to a marvellous season.