“If we had finished second, I would certainly have objected, because the winner laid on us for half a furlong, and it is to the horse’s credit that he didn’t spit the dummy out.”Kandidate may yet be diverted to one of the longer Derby trials. “I thought perhaps I had trained a non-runner in the race,” Brittain said wryly. If they are wrong, the received wisdom is that the winner of the first Classic of the season will be either of the pair deemed unlucky in the Craven Stakes, Rob Roy or Iceman. Or perhaps Footstepsinthesand, reputedly burning up the Ballydoyle gallops.
But Clive Brittain did not get where he is today – which is the master of a 120-horse yard in Newmarket, with nearly 50 top-level races all over the world to his credit – by being cowed by reputation or hype. No other sector in the life of the nation is treated this badly. Even when they decide to make an overdue investment into grass-roots sport you can’t trust them.I have long suspected that the Treasury have a lengthy piece of elastic which they occasionally wrap around a large parcel of money before presenting it, with a loud fanfare, to sport.

A little while later they give a sharp tug on the elastic and the money twangs its way back into the Whitehall vaults.We had a glaring example of that six months ago. When Tony Blair made a stirring announcement of a £750m Lottery handout to boost school sport in the year 2000, he said: “This is not just a sports policy; it is a health policy, an education policy, an anti-crime policy, an anti-drugs policy.” Fine words, excellent sentiments, and warmly welcomed by all those mindful of how far sport had been edged out of school activity. Last October, four years later, it was revealed that only four per cent of that money had been spent. What the figure is now I have no idea, and probably wouldn’t believe it if I was told.Meanwhile, fewer than two thirds of schoolchildren receive a basic two hours of sport a week. The promise is that by 2010 every child will receive two hours of PE a week. That means that some who are now 10 won’t get any.Giving with one hand and holding it back with the other is a con trick that has been perfected by the present administration, but it is in sport that the illusion is particularly annoying, because of the government’s grovelling attempt to convince the International Olympic Committee of their commitment to sport.One of the reasons I opposed them embarking on the 2012 London Olympic bid was that they would use it as proof of their devotion to sport, but their real interest lies in what benefits they can get, such as the regeneration of the East End of the capital and the provision of some sports facilities that would not otherwise be forthcoming.New Labour have made one concession to school sport this election. Last week, the Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell, pledged to fight obesity and improve health – not again, surely, our bodies can’t stand it – and promised to restore competitive sport back into schools.

If the vibes emanating from Dubai and the betting market are correct, then the putative Godolphin star Dubawi is past the post already in the 197th 2,000 Guineas. They take them for granted and are easily disappointed with their performances.”The way I’ve played this year I’ve not enjoyed it I won’t be able to take much more of it. It’s physically impossible,” the world No 1 said.That O’Sullivan has manic-depressive tendencies is well known. He was shattered when his father was sentenced to life imprisonment 13 years ago, and the emotional pain of this enforced separation remains a constant niggling ache. Steve Davis, who dominated the 1980s as Ronnie O’Sullivan threatens to dominate this decade, makes far more unforced errors at the age of 47 than in his heyday, but with undiminished relish for battle he turned arrears of 8-2 into a 13-10 win over Michael Holt, the world No 29, to reach his first Embassy World Championship quarter-final here for nine years.
“At 8-2 I missed the first chance in the next frame,” Davis said “My wheels had fallen off.

Then he missed and gave me another chance ­ a lot harder.”"I was shocking today,” said Holt after Davis accumulated six frames out of seven.Ronnie O’Sullivan declared himself “reasonably happy” with the 13-7 win over Allister Carter which put him through to the quarter-finals, but reiterated his dissatisfaction with the way he has played this season, even though he has won four of the seven tournaments in which he has competed.Geniuses, a temperamental lot on the whole, see things differently Their skills have come to them quickly and easily. Considering it was loony-left local education authorities who wiped out competitive sport with the same zeal with which they removed discipline, it is not before time.But it is such a half-baked, clueless approach, and her idea of introducing 400 “competition managers” to organise school leagues is a crazy waste of money. You don’t need to impose sporting rivalry on children; it comes naturally. Just give them the time and the facilities and they will do the rest. If there’s any money over, give it to the teachers for the extra supervision required.I would believe that this government were sincere in their ambition to resurrect school sport if they attacked it with the same zeal with which they have been blazing the trail for all-night drinking and the introduction of a mass of “super casinos” throughout the country.Maybe they have it right, and it is more profitable in the long run for us to forget sport and keep on producing willing customers for the drinks and gaming industries Now, in that, we can truly lead the world.. We need action from the very top to reverse a decline that has lasted at least two decades.