Understudies get their chance on the big stage as Big Rock and Inspiral face each other once again

It's a Lockinge of understudies. Big Rock versus Inspiral is a show that first opened at Deauville in August, when Frankie Dettori helped the filly produce a star performance, while Christopher Head was quietly moulding Big Rock, runner-up that day, for a scene-stealing turn on Champions Day.

Now, their show comes to Newbury – or it will do if Inspiral is allowed to take her chance, connections having shown some anxiety during the week. But this time Dettori and Head are not part of the troupe.

After he won on Inspiral at Santa Anita in November, it was suggested to Dettori that this was the horse he would really miss while riding in the US, that he might even make a point of flying back across the pond at intervals this summer to maintain their partnership. After all, he has been aboard for her last 12 races, winning half a dozen top-class prizes and missing only her debut in 2021, when Robert Havlin steered her to her maiden success at Newmarket.