'Hopefully people see how beautiful Taunton is and head down when they can'

Taunton is set for a rare day in the ITV spotlight and officials at the Somerset course will hope the drama remains on the track, rather than off it, following a weighing-in fiasco during its last televised meeting.

Twin Star was disqualified in November after his jockey Alex Thorne failed to weigh-in, and the case aroused plenty of comment as to whether his post-race interview caused him to become distracted.

Fortunately the mistake did not detract from an important day for the relatively small, independent track, which has doubled up as a vaccination hub and is doing its best in the absence of spectators.