AS opening weekends of the flat season ‘proper’ go, the one just passed was busier and more memorable than most. The traditional curtain raisers at Doncaster and the Curragh were augmented by all-weather action at Chelmsford and Kempton, and by a superlative World Cup card in Dubai.

Time analysis was made more difficult by the effects of wind, of especially heavy going (at the Curragh) and by surfaces that have a fairly short history (Meydan and Chelmsford). Nonetheless, some meaningful conclusions can be drawn.