What punters need to look out for when British racing returns on Monday

All the seasons of the year have their charm, even January and February have Burns Night and the Eider. You would think it would be easy to spot when a chunk of the year just disappears, but at the moment it seems hard to separate the tail-end of May from mid-March.

We have essentially lost the racing calendar between Cheltenham and the Derby, the wider sporting schedule from the Six Nations to Roland Garros. Instead, what has there been? Days. Just days.

Barring some late intervention, racing in Britain will return on Monday. It has been greeted like all good news over the last couple of months. A wave of elation and hope soon parts for the inevitable nip of doubt, like the rush of air after a lorry drives past. If you have not entertained the idea of some sort of butterfly effect being set off by the 65-day delay to the start of the Flat season, then you are either not a very inquisitive punter or are so cool that you really ought to share your secret.