A YEAR in which the Flat rediscovered its magic might also be remembered for what could have been.

Make no mistake, this was a season when racing shook off its post-Frankel torpor and reminded the congested world of sport about the beauties of the Turf.

But it would be remiss not to delve into counterfactual history when assessing 2014 in its entirety.

What if the brilliant Kingman had not been shuffled into retirement in September because of a throat infection?

What if dual Derby winner Australia had not gone the same way a month later?

Rather like Jamie Spencer's retirement volte-face, it was a slightly messy finish in a year of great polish.

Be that as it may, Flat racing should collectively raise a glass of recognition about a summer in which Kingman made anything seem possible.

He may have been denied a glitzy finale on Champions Day at Ascot, but four Group One victories was the stuff of relative greatness.

Perhaps his defining moment came at Goodwood in July, when his three rivals tried to befuddle John Gosden's colt by turning the one-mile Sussex Stakes into a paceless fiasco.

Kingman was still a length down inside the final furlong, with many wondering whether the carefully engineered gameplan had worked. They need not have worried.

James Doyle's companion found an evocative shift of gear more associated with Group One sprinters to coolly take the lead, after which he was audaciously eased down by the line.

For the idealists, though, his big day was at Royal Ascot when the son of Invincible Spirit gained revenge on 2000 Guineas nemesis Night Of Thunder with the sangfroid authority of a true champion.

Kingman's demolition job in the St James's Palace Stakes was the highlight of the Royal fixture, but the race of the week was the Gold Cup as Leading Light held off Estimate by a neck in a pulse-chasing encounter.

That was, sadly, easily as good as it got for the Royal runner-up after she was later disqualified from the race after having returned a positive morphine test attributed to contaminated feed.

Leading Light would also struggle to replicate such dizzying highs, but trainer Aidan O'Brien will have been happy with his lot following the achievements of Australia, Tapestry and Adelaide, not to mention the promise shown by young guns like Gleneagles and Ol' Man River.

No matter, in still turned out to be a fine year for the staying division, a point illustrated by Kingston Hill's efforts in the St Leger which gave trainer Roger Varian the necessary impetus for a deeply prosperous term.

If this was a breakthrough season for Varian, it was business as usual at Herridge racing stables.

Despite Richard Hannon snr having passed on the baton to his son in January, the winners flowed from pillar to post, with Cheveley Park winner Tiggy Wiggy arguably the pick of the litter.

Hannon jnr was unsurprisingly crowned champion trainer, with friend and ally Richard Hughes top jockey for a third consecutive year.

If Hughes' dominance was a constant, the rest of the weighing-room was continually in a state of flux.

This season at times felt like deadline-day in the football transfer windows as riders were shipped from various retained owners with almost carefree abandon.

The highest profile changes came at new-look Godolphin, who pulled off a major coup by bringing into the fold William Buick and Doyle, who further showed his class when leading from the front with Noble Mission in the Champion Stakes.

Ryan Moore is, however, still the main man.

Victories aboard Protectionist in the Melbourne Cup and Adelaide in the Cox Plate finally won over the Australians, while The Grey Gatsby's triumph in the Irish Champion Stakes was the essence of perfect timing.

As, too, was Paul Hanagan's judgement at Ascot in July, when Oaks heroine Taghrooda emerged one of the sharpest young fillies ever seen on a racetrack with a wonderfully uplifting success in the King George.

Sheikh Hamdan's daughter of Sea The Stars was then defeated in the Yorkshire Oaks, but hopes were high of a glorious swansong in the Arc.

Taghrooda was, in the end, a superb third at Longchamp, but she, like the rest of us, were left floored by Treve.

Her summer of discontent was banished from the memory banks within a handful of lunging strides as Criquette Head-Maarek's extraordinary filly won the race for a second consecutive year.

That she stays in training in pursuit of a historic third Arc should be applauded and cherished in equal measure.

With Treve once again leading the charge, Flat racing is in the safest of hands.