The Dealer is not one for watching the horses in the morning, but I nearly choked on the nuts in my porridge the other day when I heard that elite jockeys are travelling in and out of EU countries going from racecourse to racecourse without a quarantine period.

One rule for jockeys and another for European Commissioners. Big Phil should have let on he was participating in Punchestown at the cross country trials – he’s about three times the size of most flat jockeys so he definitely wouldn’t have got away with saying he was riding out at Ballybrit.

Anyway, cross-country is far more stylish than becoming a European Commissioner.

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Letter: Phil Hogan's achievements in Trade role