The weird and wonderful experience that is being at this restricted Royal Ascot

From the grandstand roof you can hear the jockeys screaming and shouting. From the sparsely-accommodated steppings your ears are filled with the pounding of hooves and crashing of whips. Between them and you there is no barrier, just air. This is what Royal Ascot sounds like.

Royal Ascot looks like you might expect it to look in this coronavirus year. Strange, unnerving, empty.

On the most pristine turf, some of the world's finest horses and jockeys are competing in an atmosphere that has no atmosphere. It is akin to watching Gielgud or Olivier produce an award-winning performance in a near deserted Palladium. For the spectator there is a sense of immense privilege and awkward embarrassment at the same time.