'I've never considered pulling the plug' - authority chief in bullish mood

And so we limp on, counting down the days until this national lockdown is reviewed, hoping positive cases of Covid will continue to fall and the shackles will be eased.

In the sport of point-to-pointing that means different things to different folks – some are being denied their fun, others are losing income or have lost jobs, and all the time horses need feeding and attention and expenditure. Golfers may have parked their clubs, but you cannot park a horse, especially a semi-fit and clipped thoroughbred in midwinter.

The financial pain is not being felt exclusively in yards. Sales companies cannot hold auctions of pointers when the horses haven't run, abandoned race meetings cannot make a profit, while at the sport’s Point to Point Authority office near Swindon two of the three staff have been part-time furloughed.