Lord Allen's departure is imminent - but after this latest unholy mess, who on earth would want to replace him as BHA chair?

If the rumours and reports are correct, and they surely are, Lord Allen's short tenure as BHA chair will have ended long before the Cheltenham Festival's opening roar. The apparently inevitable is almost upon us. The obvious question when it comes is, what next?

We ask the same all the time in racing. As soon as a horse has entered the winner's enclosure following a major success, people, not least those of us employed in the media, invariably begin looking to the future. Sometimes victorious connections find it annoying and express a wish to savour the moment. Whenever Lord Allen's departure is announced – and I'm trying to type this quickly just in case the news breaks before the column is filed – there will be nothing to savour. It will be a sorry end to a sorry saga that has only served to highlight why the industry so badly needs the meaningful change that may now not happen.

It is, of course, all relative. Uniting most of the world is huge worry about what happens next following the eruption of hostilities in the Middle East. Meydan's Super Saturday card took place at the same time Dubai was one of the nations being attacked by Iran. Sheikh Mohammed's presence at the fixture will have reassured many, and may even have been intended to send out a defiant message, but it was still shocking to see footage of missiles in the sky and a hotel in flames. Racing, like so many sports, is reliant on funding from the Middle East, yet it is a region whose immense volatility has been heightened even further.