What about

Although both codes primarily involve horses and jockeys the sports of flat racing and jump racing are worlds apart.

This was confirmed last Saturday when Frankie Dettori rode Authorized to a very impressive five length Derby win at Epsom.
This was the Italian’s first win in the classic in 15 attempts and it was impossible to get away from this statistic in the ensuing aftermath.
There is no doubt that Dettori is the most charismatic and famous face in flat racing and all week the only story in town was his.
To be frank this has been the only story ever since his usual boss, Sheikh Mohammed, had given him permission to ride a horse not from his stable.
Keeping the horse in mid-pack 10 lengths off the pace for much of the mile-and-a-half Dettori made his move coming around Tattenham corner, soon picking up the leaders.
A final burst of speed and Authorized was away and winning in a style not seen for many a year.
However, it is difficult to know how good this horse actually is. This is due to two main reasons; firstly, until he runs again and proves himself against older horses - and the horses he beat on Saturday go out and run well - it will be difficult to assess the quality of the result.
Secondly, the media hype surrounding Dettori’s win meant expert comment on the horse itself was sadly lacking.
Dettori who was rightly elated with his own achievement was allowed by the BBC to concentrate on just that: “How does it feel Frankie?” and similar questions was all the interviewers could muster - which is fairly typical coverage of late. They had built their coverage all week around the ‘Frankie factor’ and once they had their dream ending they decided to milk it.
I already knew what the Italian would feel like  … but was keen to get his expert opinion on what he thought of the horse.
It is a situation that the world of jump racing would never allow to happen. In this sport it is about the animals more than anything else.
The same horses appear year after year like old friends allowing us to have favourites and not disappearing off to stud the moment they become more valuable off the racetrack than on it. The Cheltenham festival, with the Gold Cup being its centrepiece, is the pinnacle of the sport and only horses that win there can be considered great.
The Grand National has status but not in the same way, it’s a specialist race where only Red Rum has achieved superstar levels but even then Arkle, Millhouse and recently Best Mate are considered better racehorses.
Flat racing requires new superstars coming along every year, with the odd exception such as Ouija Board, and as there are great races all over the world it is difficult to establish which horse is the best.
The Triple Crown in America, the Dubai Cup and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe can all compete with the Derby for prestige and certainly prize money which makes comparisons very difficult.
It is also difficult because a horse can only race in the Derby once whilst the Gold Cup can build up a horse’s reputation over a number of years and allows it to have a year when it runs badly.
No such leeway is given to a Derby horse, it’s a one-off event in a very short career and if things don’t go well on the day it is very difficult to recover from.
Authorized will now probably go on to the Eclipse at Sandown and, then, maybe bigger challenges in France and America and only then will we know how good that performance was on Saturday.
At least though the centre of attention will be the horse and the racing world will have its say on the merits of his status within the current crop of horses and comparisons with the past. One thing is for certain and that is Authorized will have to complete some pretty special performances to be remembered as a great horse and not just the one who gave the likeable Italian his treasured first Derby win.  

By Patrick Cummings
patrick.cummings@blueyonder.co.uk