I've fallen for the most frustrating racehorse - but racing would be dull without these maddening enigmas

When a horse starts at 25-1 and finishes last of seven, very few people are left thinking, 'I want more of this sort of thing'. But I've been enjoying the long, rollercoaster career of Fox Tal and efforts like the one he put in at Goodwood on Wednesday are easily forgiven.

If you have no forgiveness in your nature, horses like Fox Tal are not for you. Words like 'frustrating' barely scratch the surface in a case like his. When it comes to underachieving, he is one of the most notable recidivists of recent decades.

My sympathies are with those close to him, who have had six seasons of knowing there was a pile of gold on the other side of this wall, if only they could find a way through. Thankfully, we're talking about Andrew Balding and King Power, who have had plenty of other animals, many of them pleasingly straightforward, to console themselves with.