It's maybe not mad and bad, but Churchill no-show makes me sad

Sad mad bad. A couple of decades ago, in a notoriously emotive front-page opinion piece underneath those words, bloodstock guru Tony Morris criticised owner Peter Savill's decision to bypass the Epsom Derby with his two-year-old champion Celtic Swing in favour of the Prix du Jockey Club. The subsequent BHB chairman actually named a chaser Sad Mad Bad after the headline, thereby revealing a sense of humour that had been fairly well hidden beforehand.

Now Aidan O’Brien has said Churchill is set to head to the Curragh on Saturday to lead his bid for another Guineas double, seemingly ruling out the Derby. Do you see where I’m going with this?

Before going any further, let's just issue the necessary caveats. Yes, it is the Coolmore team's prerogative to do whatever they like with their horses, any decisions will not have been taken lightly and John Magnier did not get where he is today by giving in to sentimentality or making wrong-headed choices. And no, I've never trained a Derby winner and I've never ridden a Classic winner.