Steeplechase Sunday packs pews as racing preaches to converted

Blessed are the commentators, for they shall be forgiven their embarrassments.

That is the unusual tone of the sermon delivered at a unique service as the worlds of racing and religion collide on the 14th Sunday after Trinity in rural Cumbria.

Speaking underneath 800-year-old stonework, the Reverend Nick Devenish is wrestling with the thorny theological issue of racehorse names and sympathising with those who might have to call a close finish between Passing Wind and Hoof Hearted.