It was a King George who described an English summer as “three fine days and a thunderstorm”, so it seems somewhat appropriate that this hot spell is about to give way to heavy rain as Ascot prepares to stage the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes on Saturday.

Irish hopes look shaky as Epsom winner puts reputation on the line  at the Curragh

Patience with horses, as Sir Michael Stoute knows, is not so much a virtue as a necessity. And one of his charges, Telescope, who missed the Derby after a disappointing training gallop, is now back in the reckoning for top contests later in the year after a thoroughly satisfactory comeback in a minor contest at Leicester.

Of the weekend’s July Cup heroes, Lethal Force was easily the most  relaxed yesterday. The four-year-old enjoyed a lazy lead out to stretch the limbs that had carried him to his record-breaking Group One victory and a prolonged pick at grass to settle his rather fizzy mind, then spent the rest of the day chilling in the cool of his box. Meanwhile his trainer Clive Cox, after sorting out his entries for the rest of the week – it’s back to bread and butter at Lingfield on Wednesday – fielded interminable phone calls of inquiry and congratulation.

O’Brien’s Jersey Stakes winner has the pace to beat speedsters at their own game in July Cup

For anyone who has wondered quite how the British Turf continues to seduce investment from the Gulf, perhaps a day at the July Festival at Newmarket might prove every bit as instructive as one spent among the pomp and pageantry of Ascot or Epsom. At a time of year when their homelands seem most arid, the sheikhs find themselves driven through avenues of trees between green paddocks to a racecourse full of shade and flowers. And if the quality of the sport is mixed, with plenty of maidens and handicaps as ballast to the elite contests, then there will be a corresponding air of relaxation over the next three afternoons – not least granted the benign weather forecast.

The Borderlescott fairy tale gains a  remarkable epilogue on Saturday when he comes out of retirement at the age of 11. Having already stretched credulity by winning consecutive runnings of the Nunthorpe Stakes for a tiny local stable, in 2008 and 2009, he will be sent back to York for a comeback spin that could yet set up another crack at the big one next month.

While Frankie Dettori continues his mortifying hunt for a first winner since before Royal Ascot, the champion jockey himself has gained stunning impetus after ending his own frustrations at that meeting. Until overcoming a nightmare draw on Sky Lantern in the Coronation Stakes on the Friday, Richard Hughes had endured a maddening week, repeatedly finding himself stuck in traffic or caught out by the draw. As soon as Ascot was out of the way, however, Hughes promptly accumulated 20 winners in eight days – with a treble at Windsor on Monday evening completing the fastest hundred of his career.

Unbeaten as he is, for now the Derby winner is arguably not even the most accomplished thoroughbred who happens to have an engagement on Saturday. For a few hours after Ruler Of The World attempts to extend his Epsom supremacy on to home soil, in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby, an outstanding American champion sets a fresh challenge to such parochial perspectives as may have been re-inforced by the failure of Animal Kingdom at Royal Ascot last week.

Many trainers with limited resources can impress at a corresponding level, but the most instructive measure of their acuity is how they set about making the most of a horse eligible for higher grades. That is when you will often see them exposed, excitably shooting for the moon. In his campaigning of Winning Express, then, Ed McMahon must be commended in both raising and lowering the stakes.

11-1 shot takes impressive victory at Royal Ascot seeing off Kieren Fallon's favourite Society Rock

Hearts will rule many heads tomorrow, albeit resistance should perhaps be fairly minimal anyway after events here. For it is not just sentiment that will unite punters behind two Warren Place runners who seek to emulate the success of Riposte. The form book, after all, gives Joyeuse and Disclaimer strong claims – quite apart from the air of destiny preceding both. But that does not alter the fact that those hard enough of heart might find better value elsewhere.

She may own the stage, but thoroughbreds are too addicted to improvisation to permit even the monarch to write the scripts. So while the royal colours are carried on Ladies' Day by the Gold Cup favourite, Estimate, those punters driven by profit – rather than patriotism – should perhaps pledge allegiance to one of the foreign invaders instead.

Astonishing highs and lows are staples of the racing world. But the story of Sir Henry Cecil, the champion trainer, who died today aged 70, is remarkable for its swings of fortune both on and off the turf.