The turf | 15 March 2018

In the days when it was fashionable to mock the IQ of an American President who had taken the showbiz route to office, a Congressman reported the burning down of Ronald Reagan’s library. ‘That’s sad,’ said the hearer. ‘Yes. He lost both books.’

Racing folk don’t read much either; writers of racing books rarely stray far from the poorhouse precincts.