Complete fruitcake ready to rise to big occasion

As a trainer of racehorses, Evan Williams has few peers; as a PR man for the equine talent pool he is rather less adept. It’s a clear case of 'don't give up your day job'.

It's customary, when a licensed individual purchases a horse at the sales with a view to selling it on, that he refers from the outset to the Trainer's Manual of Good Practice, beginning with chapter 1, paragraph 7, sub-section (ii), which states that: "The reputation of the offending beast shall immediately be bolstered by liberal use of phrases such as 'fine stamp', 'bags of scope', 'will make a chaser in time' and 'could be anything'."

Sadly, Williams must be working from an early edition of this influential tome – the one that was printed before spin was invented.