Given the amount of money involved in racing, it can, at times, be just as easy to get lost in the hype and egos, the number of zeros at the end of a yearling sale price, the number of mares a stallion has covered, or how many millions of dollars in prize money a Group One race is offering.

It seemed fitting therefore, that for Athlone's 1000th post (a milestone I confess I never envisaged 19 months ago) I should receive an email from a friend paying tribute to those whose love of the horse is as important as the dollar signs attached to it:

On Monday 20 March in the Australian, Tony Arrold noted the deaths of two great mares - Triscay - who died at 18 in foal to Fantastic Light (colic) and the death at the grand old age of 28 of Secretamme, dam of Gone West, etc. The thing that interested us was that the story noted 'she lost her battle for life at a Kentucky Veterinary Clinic'. My husband said, 'Look at that, somebody cared enough about her to give the grand old lady one last chance at life, no matter what her age, no matter what the cost. It's very, very unusual to see - normally she would be simply put down in the paddock, and that's that, thanks for the millions, boys, etc. In today's greedy old world, it's a lovely story.

It certainly is.