So he won. Like the name or not, Australia seemed acquainted with the script and delivered his lines. A good-looking but sparsely made chestnut; he was not every one’s idea of the paddock pick. Most observers would have opted for True Story, but then this was horse racing not a catwalk.

Despite not coming down the hill too well and finding himself shuffled wide on the entrance to the straight, once he levelled out Australia was back on the bridle and eating up ground.

In what was generally acknowledged as a quality Derby, he and Kingston Hill fought it out, although Australia was always that little bit too strong.

So the horse named after the country that is largely uninhabited and inhabitable in places, goes down in the history books as the 2014 Derby winner. Being by Galileo out of Ouija Board, there were many permutations for the horse-namer Sue Magnier to consider. One assumes she opted for the somewhat obscure Australia as an astrological reference to the star Tania Australis that is in the constellation known as Ursa Major. On the other hand, maybe she sensed with such a pedigree he was destined to become a star of a different kind and opted for a name that would roll readily from Michael Tabor’s lips so he could stride down a line of bookmakers, striking bets of 20 Grand a time with ease.

With the Galileo and fortune-telling connection, some of us might have suggested Stairway To Heaven, Divine Intervention or Ghost Star; but, Australia it is.

It was a Derby dominated not just by good horses but by those whose names represented proper nouns. Kingston Hill is a campus in Surrey. Romsdal is a country within Norway and Arod is either the biblical son of Gad or an American baseball player – take your pick.

So in my world it was the Derby won by Spirit In The Sky from Coat Of Arms, Canterbury Cathedral and Haymaker. Don’t bother looking for them in the form book though, but if you have any better ideas I should be pleased to hear them.

It may not have been a triumph for the namers of horses, but it was a particular triumph for Aidan O’Brien, who not only trained his third consecutive Derby winner, but also so accurately advised the high-rolling owners he represents when he told them Australia would win. Training is one art, soothsaying another. It seems Mr O’ Brien has acquired both skills.

As punters, we can’t say we were not told.

If Australia followed the script at Epsom, for the England football team, in Miami on Saturday night it became as crazed as the lightning-shattered sky. Mitigation apart, for England to only manage a paltry nil-nil draw with Honduras is lamentable. Imagine Brazil, Argentina, Germany or Spain recording this score line against such lowly opponents.

But England is now in Brazil and play Italy next Saturday. Their lead up to the World Cup has been totally uninspiring and as things stand the England team have to be favourite to be on the flight home on June 25th after they have lost to Italy and Uraguay and scrambled some sort of a result against Costa Rica.

In football everyone is an expert. Even the biggest duffers are grandstand coaches and we all have opinions. Roy Hodgson seems a nice man. He might even conjure up a decent showing from our team. But to do that surely he needs to deviate from the same-old, same-old that is not working. It seems our strengths lie with the likes of Lambert, Barkley, Lllana, Wilshere, Lampard, Sterling, Gerrard and, if fit, Oxlade-Chamberlain. A new line-up is called for. We have nothing to lose.

Whatever happens; however Mr Hodgson plays it from the bench, there will be excuses on the plane home: It was too hot during the day – too cold at night. The beer was too chilled, the samba too lively. The England shirts were too red; but, you know what, we have learned a lot.

How about learning the most vital lesson of all – what happened in 1966 is history – all that matters is now.