The jumps is back - and doctors need to be briefed that it's still the greatest sport there is

I was reminded the other day of the existence of Sad, seasonal affective disorder, otherwise known as the winter blues. An estimated two million people in Britain suffer from it, perhaps experiencing feelings of hopelessness or overeating or grouching more than usual.

Experts don't seem entirely sure about what causes it but there no longer appears to be any dispute that it's really a thing. One group of researchers analysed 509 million tweets (a grim job if ever there were one) from 84 countries and found that people living in places where daylight hours were shortening were less likely to say positive things.

This is possibly a useful insight for jockeys to remember when they're on the receiving end of some vicious message spat through social media after they've failed to deliver an expected victory round Wolverhampton on some frozen Saturday night. January, innit? Lots of people won't be at their best until the Craven meeting.