Roger Varian: 'When things aren't going so well there's nowhere to hide'

It is not quite yet 6am and certainly not the time of day for any sensible creature to be so wide awake and energetic as Postponed. Equally alert, in part because they need to be, are the two brave souls attempting to put a bridle on an exquisitely handsome head. Wisely, the trainer watches from a distance.

Roger Varian does a lot of watching. Right now he is simply observing the scene, saying nothing, except to suggest the Racing Post's photographer, Edward Whitaker, might possibly help groom, Steve 'Barnsley' Edgar, and head lad, Jimmy Thompson, by moving away from the horse. The request is made with great politeness. Varian is not known for raising his voice.

He was walking around Kremlin House Stables in his familiar puffer jacket long before we arrived. Varian likes to check on the yard's valuable equine residents before they leave their boxes. On this bright but breezy Newmarket morning, none are more valuable than the five-year-old who on Saturday is hot favourite to complete back-to-back victories in Britain's most coveted all-aged Flat race, the Qipco-sponsored King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.