Majority owner Jess Jackson put it quite succinctly over Curlin’s appearance in the Breeders’ Cup: “I want to give the fans a chance to see him one more time. Fans need heroes.” No time more so than in the economically gruesome present do we need a horse who can give us a brief whiff of exhilaration riding on the coat-tails of his glory.

Curlin is something special – voted Horse of the Year, the burly, rugged dirt-racer won last year’s Breeders’ Cup Classic in near track record time and surged clear of the field in impressive fashion to take this year’s Dubai World Cup.