Barbaro's surgery to repair three bones shattered in his right rear leg at the Preakness went about as well as Richardson and trainer Michael Matz hoped.
Prof Richardson also expressed fears about Scottish Education Secretary Michael Russell's proposal to widen access to poorer students, something she views as a threat to the autonomy of universities.
This is not to suggest the Bard of Hogwarts is up there with the Bard of Avon, only that her words turn into music coming out of the mouths of such performers as Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane and Miranda Richardson.