Flightline's exhilarating exhibition shows why racing still has us transfixed

If you expect people to sit through a ten-hour show with just a ten-minute interval, you had better have a good ending to make it worthwhile, and ITV4 managed it in style.

Ours is at heart a simple sport, for all that it has mushroomed from the early days of Charles II and friends galloping on Newmarket heath to embrace sprints and marathons, hurdles and fences, even racing on ice in Switzerland or through a lake in Germany.

All that matters is which horse gets from the start to the finish first. Everyone hopes for an animal who does it once or twice. Doing it more often makes them more excited. Doing it so often and in such a style that people think it may be the best around is positively thrilling.