It’s not the winning it’s the taking part. Or is it? In the case of the 33rd America’s Cup it would seem the old saw has been reversed.

The Gnomes of Zurich v the Tzars of Silicon Valley have spent more time in tort than in tempest and hundreds of thousands of dollars to create two freak boats which comply with a formula but cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, be considered match-racing chariots designed to produce a winning sailor.

Now such an Alice in Wonderland ‘contest’ has been reduced to a punt on potential race disasters by a High Street bookies.

How inspiring.