20 JANUARY 1990, Page 23

... a winning double

I AM encouraged to hope that John Major means to abandon the most perverse fea- ture of Nigel Lawson's reign. He always messed up the National Hunt meeting at Cheltenham by staging his budgets on Champion Hurdle day. His policy, con- stantly criticised in this column, came under review in the damp purlieus of Chevening, and my frog under the dining- room table tells me that two dates were considered: 13 March, to coincide with Cheltenham, or 20 March, to miss it with the odds, says my frog, favouring 20 March. I am betting with the odds. There may not be much else to enjoy about this Budget, but here is Mr Major's chance to make himself popular and do something right.