With the football season all but over and the World Cup shunted off towards Christmas, the stars have aligned for racing to enjoy an unusually high public profile over the next few weeks. First, the Derby will take centre stage during the Platinum Jubilee celebrations and then attention will turn to Royal Ascot in mid-June, when the Queen is expected to have several fancied runners.
And while it might seem to be tempting fate to suggest it, there are early signs too that when the pomp and ceremony of Ascot is done for another year, the race for the Flat jockeys’ championship could keep the sport in the wider public consciousness through the summer months and on into the autumn.
