Bizarre betting, a rife black market and thoughts on two Ballydoyle superstars - Michael Tabor was fascinating at Ascot

Michael Tabor was in excellent form. Illinois had just given the Coolmore lads their first success of this year's royal meeting and Auguste Rodin's latest appearance was only an hour away. Tabor was the man to ask about what we should expect from Ballydoyle's most mercurial star. He was also the man to ask about some bizarre betting activity.

"He should love the ground," said Tabor of the generally very, very good or very, very bad dual Derby hero. "I'll be very disappointed if he gets beat. I expect him to win – but I've expected that of many a horse."

Not surprisingly, this triggered follow-up comments about the juvenile champion whose Derby triumph he celebrated earlier this month.