Asadna row uncovers an awful look for racing as punters are kept in the dark yet again

There's a pithy little aphorism one sometimes stumbles across on the internet – I'm afraid I can't be sure who said it first – and it came to mind this week when it turned out a well-beaten horse in a major race had been recovering from an injury: "You can never make the same mistake twice because the second time it's not a mistake, it's a choice."

How many times have we been in this kind of situation, where knowledge of a high-profile horse's setback is confined for a time, so that the sport's loyal supporters are left to bet in ignorance? Stop counting when you run out of fingers.

Asadna is at the heart of it on this occasion. Evidently, he "sustained a cut on his shoulder" on the Friday before Ascot, four days before he was due to take part in the Coventry Stakes, for which he was favourite at the time. He started at 7-2, second in the betting, but was in trouble soon after halfway and finished ninth of 20.