IN an inversion of the old proverb, March came in like a lamb and left like a lion, both in terms of the weather – which was dry and pleasant at the very beginning of the month but gave us Storm Katie and a number of cancellations just before its end – and in terms of the racing.

There was not much going on in the racing world in the fortnight prior to Cheltenham but plenty in the final week of March when Easter falls as early as it did this year. The Irish Grand National Meeting at Fairyhouse, the Dubai World Cup Meeting at Meydan and the All-Weather Championships Finals Day at Lingfield all vied for attention.