THE pick of the horseracing action that actually did take place closer to home were the listed races won by Hunaina at Kempton and by Downforce at Navan, but neither was especially well-run, with winning timefigures of just 93 and 83 respectively.

Hunaina was still quite a bit faster than both Dathanna and Kings Shield at the same course and distance, the latter a well-touted John Gosden-trained three-year-old who quickened best to win with just a 59 timefigure. There is talk of him going for the Poule d’Essai des Poulains.