Glory ebbs as festival flood continues unabated

Steady change puts down roots that sudden upheaval often fails to achieve. Revolutions tend to be easy to quash or reverse but the evolutionary sticks and there is a strength about the change it brings.

So it is that the shape of the Flat has undergone radical change almost by stealth in recent decades, but there is no doubt it is far more autumn-orientated or back-end loaded than it was.

The first brick loosened in the old edifice was the foundation of the Breeders’ Cup back in 1984. Suddenly the season was extended by an enormously valuable end-of-term jamboree with opportunities for horses of all ages.