There’s nothing like the tortured scream of the anguished punter - but I’m still hoping to find my redemption

Personally I could do without some evening meetings. It’s hard enough going through three or four cards in an afternoon, not to mention keeping up with the replays and formlines for future races, without doing the same again a few hours later.

Then again, I might have a different opinion if all evening meetings were half as good as Brigadier Gerard night at Sandown.

Back in 2010, old friend and esteemed racecourse commentator Stephen Powell was trying to visit every racecourse in Britain and we decided it would be fun to do the Brighton/Sandown double-header in a day. So off we popped from Leeds to take in the racing and the ice cream by the seaside before jumping back in the car to head up the A23 and meet some friends in Esher.