So soon after Royal Ascot it is easy to imagine that winning races is simply a question of making the right entries, saddling the horse and welcoming in the winner.

But that is at the apex of the pyramid. The vast majority of trainers have never even been to Royal Ascot, let alone had a runner. These guys are at the coal face of the industry and typical of them is the 52-year-old Jevington handler Mark Flower.

Flower is still looking for his first winner of the season and at the halfway point, he is in a position at which many would lose their nerve. He said: "I've seen it all before. You have to go on doing what is right, what has produced the results in years past and sooner or later it will come right."

From a small stable of 20 or so horses, a best ever total of 17 winners testifies that the man can do the job. The problem is that he had to do it with cast offs from the bigger yards, most of which cost their owners less than £2,000 and are sent to the sales for a good reason.

Flower said: "We can produce the goods and in fact I have had less than 50 runners since March and a good many placed horses so things are not as bad as they look on paper."

Getting a run is a major problem for trainers in Flower's position. Most of his horses are rated so low in the handicap that, with enormous entries for each race, they get balloted out because of the maximum safety numbers.

He said: "I've had a dozen ready to run in the last three weeks, not one of which got in the race. When you consider that there are three or four meetings on most days this time of year it still doesn't give moderate horses much of a chance.

"The next few weeks are vital to us here at Devonshire House. I have several horses spot on - horses capable of winning if they can get a run.

"For example, the stayer Friendly Alliance, who ran at Chepstow last night, could go well at Warwick today. He can take two races in quick succession. Better Gamble who was fourth at 100-1 at Newmarket recently was against older horses over one mile. Next time I will try him over a bit further in his own age group and I will be disappointed if he doesn't win."

After 30 years or so in racing Flower is neither a pessimist nor an optimist. "No, I'm a realist. I never look at horses through rose coloured spectacles and only rarely does the thought cross my mind that I should pack it all in. But, if I did what would I do? I'm unemployable outside racing and if we're not making a great living at least we have a wonderful way of life."