Trainers used to come into racing with Aunt Agatha’s legacy after a short service commission, having probably worn a trilby in their playpens. These days some come by different routes. To describe Dean Ivory as a small trainer, as the media do, is technically accurate but missing the point. Drive along a lane in leafy Hertfordshire, past care homes, stockbroker villas and driving ranges, and you come across an imposing set of electronically operated gates next door to a bustling premises embracing self-drive hire, recycling and road haulage.

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