'He enjoyed racing, he could take the racing - and we made the most of it'

When a trainer thinks he has a good horse on his hands, there are questions to be asked and answered regarding the degree of gusto with which its campaign should be plotted. Sadly, we live in an era of racing in which it's not just the answers that are often disappointing but the questions themselves.

The default seems to be, "why should we run?". In the days when Martin Pipe had Make A Stand, the only thought running through his head was, "why wouldn't we?".

Yes, the Wizard of Wellington had the Champion Hurdle at the back of his mind from some way out with the spring-heeled beast he picked up for a song in a Leicester claimer, but there were rich pickings to be plundered along the way, so what was the point of keeping a sound and willing accomplice cooped up in his box when he could be out earning his corn?