Shishkin is triumphant on a day when it was good to have shares in goosebumps

From the moment it first became a possibility we wondered if it would happen. Well, it happened. My God, it happened. And it was wonderful.

From within the vast grandstand a noise was made the like of which has surely not been heard on a winter Ascot afternoon in 33 years, not since that fabled day when Desert Orchid somehow overhauled Panto Prince in the inaugural running of what is now the SBK Clarence House Chase.

This time the parts were played by Shishkin and Energumene. They gave us herculean performances, yet at the end of a duel none shall forget, it was Shishkin, the utterly magnificent Shishkin, who won their first extraordinary encounter. Let us now hope for many, many more.