Who knows better what's in Frankie's head? Is it Frankie or is it the bookies?

I used to trust bookmakers. There was a time when, if ever people assailed me with hare-brained notions that reflected their own wishes more than the state of the world as we know it, I’d say: “Just look at the betting – the bookies don’t get these things wrong." Then along came Trump and Brexit and an entire landscape of certainty was changed forever.

Now we have an interesting match-up that may or may not restore the reputation of the bookmaking fraternity. It’s between Frankie Dettori and the layers, and we have to decide which side has its finger more firmly on the pulse of reality.

On the one side, we have a flighty Italian who has long been prone to saying the first thing that comes into his head and then barely remembering it five minutes later. On the other, we have a bunch of bookies who pride themselves on being rather more hard-nosed.