Finding the courage to talk about tough times was vital to Ryan Day's revival

Whether you were watching Saturday's Caspian Caviar Gold Cup from the grandstands or on television the feelings we all experienced will have been the same.

In a wretched twist of fate, when Starchitect suffered his catastrophic injury, one from which it was immediately obvious he could not possibly survive, the young horse was delivering the performance of his life. After taking the lead at the third-last fence he produced a burst of acceleration one rarely sees in a contest over fences. It was a thrilling thing to see. What we then saw was utterly horrifying.

Sympathy was extended to all connected with the horse. Tom Scudamore has years of experience behind him, and so must have been central to similarly awful moments in the past, yet it was clear on his return to the weighing room how upset his mount's death had left him.