'Tis but a scratch – rejoice as siege is lifted and racing escapes mauling

Time to start humming the famous theme tune to The Great Escape after the all-clear sirens were sounded late on Monday to mark the return to normal service and happy resumption of hostilities.

The six-day hiatus called by the BHA was a rare of example of a necessary knee-jerk reaction that was fully justified.

Late last week the threat posed by the equine flu outbreak was impossible to quantify. Like children lost in a wood, we knew not where we stood – thus it was better to be safe than seriously savaged and sorry.