A fast-tracked £250 fine will not deter those who might seek to deceive punters

It seems only fair to begin with a warning. Some of you hate the 'P' word but this column is in part about perception. Rest assured, there will be no further references to the whip or racing's social licence. Rather, the focus is on the link between perception and deception, either of a sort that is without nefarious intent or, alternatively, one meticulously orchestrated.

The BHA and the sport's disciplinary panel were satisfied a relatively innocent explanation lay behind the reason a headline-grabbing Kempton winner won a Class 6 handicap last May in the name of someone who was not his owner.

To precis a story whose opening chapter was told in this column six months ago, the horse was an extremely unheralded four-year-old called I Doubt That. He was having his first start for Wiltshire-based Jimmy Fox at Kempton having previously represented County Kilkenny trainer Kieran Purcell and owner Ashley Rogers, for whom he was initially defeated by a combined total of 85 lengths in maiden hurdles when sent off at 250-1 and 300-1.