'Superhuman' Rafa Nadal shows why zero tolerance on drugs is racing's best bet

It has been a trying summer for racing in some respects, with some particularly baffling verdicts emanating from stewards' rooms up and down Britain. However, one aspect of the sport's governance has proved beyond reproach. The zero-tolerance approach to raceday medication, pioneered in Britain and adopted by the majority of prominent racing nations, is something to be proud of.

Vindication comes via the auspices of another sport. It was a cruel shame Rafa Nadal had to withdraw from his semi-final at Wimbledon last week. But for his injury, the odds are we would have seen the great warrior square up to Novak Djokovic in the final, where victory would have given him the opportunity to complete the Grand Slam – tennis's equivalent of the Triple Crown – at the US Open in September.

The irony was that Nadal was not laid low by the foot injury that has plagued him for some time. It was an abdominal muscle tear that did for him – a new injury to a body that has been ravaged by severe ailments for the last ten years.