Haslam a fantastic trainer who didn't know what quitting meant

There are, inevitably, a few folk in racing you would not mind knowing less well, but the important ones are those you regret not knowing far, far better.

Patrick Haslam was such a man and time spent chatting to him was never wasted. He was amusing, incisive and belonged to nobody but himself with the exception of his wife Annie, a jewel among women.

And by God he could train. It was notable how warm AP's lengthy tributes to Patrick were at the weekend, not least because McCoy knows a bit about battling pain and physical threat.