You can't beat the joy of ante-post betting - as dear War Of Attrition showed me

There was no little wit as well as plenty of wisdom in the Racing Post's Safer Gambling Masterclass last Saturday. If you feared it sounded drier than a mini-budget, you would have been pleasantly surprised at how even our best punting minds are happy to reveal moments of weakness and loss.

I was half expecting at least one of the assembled experts to warn that, like sundried tomatoes and the search for the great American novel, betting ante-post has had its day.

The twin pitfalls of a proliferation of possible targets and the concentration of more talent in fewer hands have made pinpointing where a horse might end up harder, while bookmakers are so keen to attract business on the morning of a major race the prices on offer can be more attractive than those available three days or three months prior to the event. Case closed; move on.