James Doyle raised a smile when it was put to him that this, effectively, was like Arsenal borrowing Tottenham’s centre-forward to win a big game.
Doyle’s permanent role is second rider for Godolphin, the venture of Sheikh Mohamed, but on Tuesday morning his agent received a call from Coolmore, the Irish superpower, to see if he could take the ride on Warm Heart in the Yorkshire Oaks.
There would have been a time, not so long, when it would have been impossible for such an arrangement to happen but relations have thawed between the two organisations so Doyle was in a position to gleefully accept the opportunity.