A great Sir Michael Stoute punting angle and more fascinating Flat issues

Come Tuesday afternoon the world will be a little brighter, the air a little sweeter and the sun a little warmer (if you don't mind, please) as Newmarket ushers in months and months of high-quality Flat racing by staging the three-day Craven meeting.

Robbed of its brilliance last year by the wretched ravages of Covid-19, the same ones that will deny us entry over the days ahead, we can nevertheless look forward to what Craven week heralds and turn our attention to a few musings to linger on for the coming weeks.

So while this year's Craven plays out to a backdrop of poor prize-money levels, owner malcontent, concerns for the direction of British racing and the deaths of some of the Flat's longest-standing benefactors, let us instead indulge in some thoughts about what could be ahead this year.