With Denman, the will was always stronger than the skill

Muhammad Ali may have been famous for his razor-sharp one-liners but it was one of his deeper, more profound statements that came to mind when the sad news of Denman’s death, aged 18, emerged yesterday morning.

“Champions are made from something they have deep inside them - a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have the skill, and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.”

As per usual, Ali was referring to his favourite subject: Ali. But he might just as easily have been referring to the horse who in 2008 turned the most eagerly-awaited Cheltenham Gold Cup showdown in a generation into a glorious procession.