Daring to do differently is what sets Willie Mullins and Rachael Blackmore apart

It was a conversation that was probably repeated in umpteen variations across Prestbury Park and in pubs and betting shops up and down these isles last week.

Standing on the packed steps below the Cottage Rake bar on Wednesday, a couple of guys 'local to Gavin Cromwell' (nobody uses town names when more universal locators are on offer) wanted to know my thoughts about the impending rematch between Energumene and Shishkin.

Convinced by Willie Mullins' protestations that everything had gone right at Ascot yet Tony Bloom's awesome chaser had still come out on the losing side, they were firmly of the opinion it was Shishkin's race to lose.