Right noises made - but the inevitable must still have been hard to accept

I KNOW, I know they made all the right noises, but deep down it must really drive them daft.

Sheikh Mohammed enjoyed a fine last weekend with both Casamaneto and Dubai Prince. Casamanto was quite superb in winning Saturday’s Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster and, with a smashing attitude, is obviously a horse with a massive future.

Then on Monday at Leopardstown, Dubai Prince put the icing on the cake with a smooth demolition job on seven rivals in the Group 3 Killavullan Stakes.