THAT there were no real traffic problems during Sunday’s three pattern races was less down to the false rail and more to the prevailing heavy ground.

British raiders won two of the three and, like the tit-for-tat expulsion of Russian and British diplomats, the two countries are swapping big races trophies at present, as the Brits have won four of the first five group races of the French season while the French plundered three lucrative prizes at Lingfield on Good Friday and also landed the listed feature at Kempton last Saturday.