'God, we were mad' - why low sun just wasn't a bother in Richard Pitman's day

At Aintree on Saturday, it's the sun wot won it for Lake View Lad.

Those of you under a certain age may be baffled by the strange phrasing that opens this column. It refers to the front page headline used in the April 11, 1992, edition of The Sun, which proudly declared its influence was the reason why John Major's Conservative Party had defeated Labour in the general election that took place two days previously. All of which provides another seamless link to this week's subject matter.

Back in 1992 I was younger than I am now, by roughly 28 years, in fact. Perhaps the mind plays tricks, but as a teenage racing fan I don't recall watching many instances of fences or hurdles being bypassed because of the low sun. Social media and the internet afford many opportunities to enjoy footage of races run in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. I'm not sure I can ever remember seeing one in which the action was impacted as it was last week.