IT is said that “it’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good”, and the ill wind and torrential downpours that put paid to the high-profile Saturday flat meetings at Doncaster and Newbury last weekend proved to be to the benefit of the jumps, especially to Cheltenham on the same day.

Then again, the racing at Prestbury Park had to survive its own inspection, and the runners there faced conditions that would have been harsh even by mid-winter standards.