'The wind cuts you in two but horses like Constitution Hill make it easier'

Few are better placed to comment on the freezing temperatures in Lambourn than Mark Usher, who will next year mark 40 years at the training coalface but on Monday morning might have welcomed a seat in front of the fireplace instead.

Usher, who oversaw four lots including a first one at 7.30am, has been training in and around the Lambourn area since 1983 and reckons operating in this day and age is a "breeze" compared to previous eras.

"It's definitely easier," he said. "I remember back in the day, Eddie Fisher, who maintained the gallops in Upper Lambourn, would be up all night harrowing one of the all-weather gallops just to keep it open.