'It's still the most important week - and we have our strongest team for years'

It is not a theory that has gained much traction in psychiatric circles, but I suspect you can tell a lot about a man from the way he eats a boiled egg, and it's a theory that's easy to test around the kitchen table at Sandhill Stables, where excellent firm-whited and runny-yolked specimens are the order of the morning.

A half-awake hack with no fixed plans and even less sense of urgency will approach his egg respectfully, gently tapping the pointy end with the back of his spoon and idly peeling away the fragments of cracked shell until the bounties within are revealed.

Meanwhile, in the time that it's taken to prepare this pristine morning snack, the busy racehorse trainer has sheared off the top off his own egg with one sweep of the nearest knife and has emptied it almost to the bottom. No time for toasty soldiers here – just a slice of bread halved in businesslike fashion with not so much as a sniff from the jar of homemade Sandhill marmalade.