Last week, I had a commuter-hell day. The Great Western train to London was standing room only, horribly delayed, and the tea trolley was a non-runner. The Circle line broke down, and black cabs were rarer than an outsider winning the Derby. All this meant I was late to meet Grand National-winning jockey and all-round racing hero Sam Waley-Cohen.

I was due to see Sam at 4 p.m. at the chic members-only watering hole Kensington Roof Gardens. And boy, did I now need a sharpener. But it was the timing of our meeting that had been playing on my mind throughout my cursed journey.

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It reminded me of the brilliantly wicked punchline delivered by John Arlott, one of the great cricket commentators. The New Zealander Bob Cunis stepped up to bowl at the Oval. He was generally considered too slow to be medium pace, but he didn’t turn the ball enough to be a classic spinner. Arlott, in his distinctive gravely voice, said; ‘Cunis, funny name that. Like his bowling, neither one thing or the other.’

And that is exactly how I would describe meeting someone for a drink at 4 p.m. Too late for a post-lunch glass of port and too early for a cocktail.

Sam was looking younger, leaner and fitter than he was in 2022 when he won the National on Noble Yeats. And he........

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