At what is now known as Old Ascot - same place, very different feel - certain rituals were faithfully observed. Before each race of the royal meeting, Sheikh Mohammed, his brothers and their entourage would march to a corner of the ancient owners' stand that, by silent acknowledgement, was reserved for them. Very often, the end of the race would then see them file directly to the winners' enclosure.

In 2004, at the last Royal Ascot in its old and much-loved environment, Godolphin, the elite training operation created by the sheikh, produced an extraordinary six winners. As they included such landmark races as the Gold Cup, Queen Anne and Hardwicke Stakes, this was an achievement to go down in Ascot history.

But something happened to this routine when Ascot knocked its old stand down. Godolphin lost its way. Sheikh Mohammed and his retinue now occupy a plush box in the space-age new stand but they have had precious little cause to leave it in celebration.

They did manage one winner when the meeting uprooted to York in 2005 but the launch meeting at the redevelopment saw them draw an ignominious blank.

When Ramonti won on the opening day last year, it hinted at a revival but that impression has long since been quashed.

When Godolphin endured three barren days at the start of this year's meeting, people began to talk. It is fair to say that their policy of paying unrefusable money to recruit proven horses from rival trainers is not universally popular. When such purchases subsequently flop, there is a certain amount of smug satisfaction evident in flat racing circles.

What cannot be denied, though, is that racing - and Ascot in particular - needs Godolphin to do rather better. It is partly because every sport wants proper competition at the top level and the contest between the two racing superpowers is currently very one-sided, with Coolmore's Irish team winning four group ones already this week.

But it is also about Frankie Dettori, Godolphin's jockey. Most of the Ascot crowd has probably only heard of one jockey and everyone is instinctively lifted by the winning celebrations of the sparky Italian. When Godolphin is in the doldrums, Ascot is deprived of a major selling point.

For these reasons, there was corporate relief yesterday when Dettori produced a copybook ride from the front on Campanologist to take the King Edward VII Stakes. True, it was only a group two and left them still a very long way behind Coolmore. But it was a start, a reason for the crowd to smile.

In today's feature race, the Golden Jubilee Stakes, Godolphin's runner is named Diabolical, which looked like being topical until Dettori rescued the week. Maybe it is a sign of better things - a sign that the sheikh and his men will soon be getting more acquainted with the new winners' enclosure.