The depressing news that Sir Gino is out for the season has blown a hole through next month's Arkle Trophy, robbing the Cheltenham Festival of what could have been a memorable clash with Majborough.
It is pure bad luck for Nicky Henderson and his team that a minor injury has become something a lot more serious, and few of us need reminding of how fragile jumps horses can be.
Many trainers nowadays believe they can reduce the risk of injury by working a horse to full fitness on their gallops before a big race but Sir Gino's misfortune only proves that setbacks can occur at any time.
Another school of thought is that a healthy horse might as well race and try to earn some prize money, and there is an old phrase in racing that “you should go when you can".
Never has this been so true, yet sometimes ignored, in these target-driven days.
Meanwhile, form clues for the Festival were in short supply last weekend with Djelo posting perhaps the standout performance in the Denman Chase.
Despite being unproven at three miles, this really progressive chaser saw the trip out really well and there may be some regret in the camp that he doesn't hold a Gold Cup option.
Trainer Venetia Williams has Betfair Ascot Chase-bound L'Homme Presse for the big one but, if he runs in the Ryanair back over a shorter trip, Djelo will have to improve again in what looks potentially a red-hot contest featuring Banbridge (possibly), Envoi Allen, Fact To File, Il Est Francais and last year's winner Protektorat.
There seems to be widespread acceptance that Galopin Des Champs has a third Gold Cup at his mercy, and maybe he has with last year's runner-up Gerri Colombe another ruled out for the season.
But trainers should never be frightened of one horse and, if the weather changes and drier ground prevails, the bottomless defending champ's supremacy might be slightly diminished.
In such circumstances, it won't be a surprise if Banbridge, the King George winner, takes him on.
There are more Cheltenham trials this Saturday at Ascot, Haydock and Wincanton, though some trainers don't like to run too close to the Festival nowadays despite the historic evidence that just over three weeks is time enough to recover.
This Saturday's Betfair Ascot Chase, the BetMGM Kingwell Hurdle at Wincanton and Haydock's WKD Rendlesham Hurdle have all been won by horses who followed up a few weeks later, perhaps most notably the great One Man.
Owned by the recently passed John Hales, the hugely talented and popular grey was a dramatic short runner in two Gold Cups but, after winning the Ascot Chase in 1998, he dropped back in trip and raced clear up the hill to much acclaim in the Queen Mother Champion Chase.
In 2013, the remarkable Cue Card also won at Ascot before following up a few weeks later in the Ryanair.
A couple of seasons ago, it was mooted that Constitution Hill might have warmed up for his Champion Hurdle bid in Wincanton's Kingwell Hurdle.
Connections thought it 'too close' yet the race is a well trodden path to Festival glory as Bula, Lanzarote, Kribensis, Alderbrook and Katchit all proved.
Similarly, Haydock's Rendlesham Hurdle has produced several winners of the Stayers' Hurdle - Derring Rose, Gaye Chance and Baracouda - and the ultra tough, Toby Balding-trained Cool Ground won the Greenalls Gold Cup (now the National Trial) before following up in the Gold Cup just 12 days later.
Very few trainers would attempt that double nowadays and, with reference to the above and the threat of injury at any time, one wonders about the mindset.
At the risk of being accused of beating an old drum, it's worth recalling that Red Rum usually ran nine times a season and, of course, completed a quick and memorable double in the Grand National and Scottish National in 1974.
Like racing's greatest hero, Cool Ground was unusually hardy but, almost every day of the week, there are horses making quick reappearances.
Sometimes, a trainer's hand is forced (a welfare issue?) by the re-handicapping process whereby a horse can have a big advantage under a penalty, and it remains a mystery why all new ratings are published only weekly each Tuesday (taking into account Saturday's results) rather than be updated more quickly.
With the current system, shrewd trainers can have up to 13 days, if their horse wins on a Sunday, to run again off an old mark plus a penalty - or without a penalty if victory was gained in a race restricted to conditional jockeys or apprentices on the Flat.
The early closure of big handicaps, especially the Grand National for which the weights will be announced (at luncheon and in-between drinks) today, are designed to facilitate ante-post betting, but they are also an integrity issue as trainers might not want to reveal a horse's true ability beforehand.
So some horses either run under another code (for example, a chaser over hurdles), are given a quiet run or don't race much at all thereby protecting their rating.
Come the Festival or Aintree, there will be runners whose hand has been withheld - as encouraged by the system - and, for one, the ride given to a leading Grand National contender at Cheltenham just over a fortnight ago was the subject of official scrutiny.
With punters struggling to strike a decent bet these days, ante post markets are less buoyant and, given the many wasted entry fees as well, the early closing dates for big handicaps - which only discourages trainers from running horses too often - needs reviewing.
More from Simon Holt
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