Don't feel too blue about the flu after week of consternation

It seems the only thing worse than having extra races to factor into Cheltenham study is having none at all. Britain was laid low by the flu last week, while Ireland took the chance to emphasise the Grand National with the big races there over the weekend, so it might be assumed there is little to discuss here.

Not so. The relatively swift return to racing following the equine flu scare, and more specifically the biosecurity measures put in place by the BHA, have caused consternation among trainers and suggested that festival readiness could be jeopardised after all.

The summary, well covered in the Racing Post's news pages, is that horses will need to have received a booster jab in the last six months in order to run and whether any horse is likely to have had one within that window is largely down to stable policy.