Two tips for Ascot tomorrow

Research tells us that a horse typically peaks in terms of speed and performance at the aged of four or five and deteriorates after that. But there are plenty of exceptions to the rule. Indeed, for some thoroughbreds, age really is just a number.

Personally, because the horse spent time stabled near me when I was a youngster, I will never forget the achievements of a loveable old chaser called Mac Vidi. Incredibly, Mac Vidi – trained by his owner-breeder Pam Neal – was placed in the 1980 Cheltenham Gold Cup at the age of 15, doing something no horse aged older than 13 has done before or since.

Mac Vidi passed the post third at the Festival behind Tied Cottage but, after that horse was disqualified, he was promoted to the runner-up spot. That run, at odds of 66-1, came near the end of a remarkable season that saw him, despite his advanced years, show much-improved form and win seven races, including a sequence of six successive handicaps.