WHEN the white flag drops just after 1.30pm on Tuesday, March 12th, and the now famous Cheltenham roar erupts to send the runners on their way to kickstart the 2024 Cheltenham Festival, for many, it will mark the completion of a journey which began years earlier.

In fact, for over 30% of the runners, their path to racing’s equivalent of the Olympic Games began point-to-pointing in fields dotted across the length and breadth of the country.