THE new season has begun and already, looking at the first open races, we begin to ask ourselves if we are seeing potential hunter chase winners.

Not so long ago point-to-points provided a ladder through maiden races to winners contests up to open races. The next step was hunter chasing and those who excelled in this sphere would then take their chances against the top, professionally trained National Hunt performers.

In fact races confined to hunters (regularly and fairly hunted) go back to the earliest days of organised National Hunt racing and there were hurdles races and even flat races confined to hunters, so today’s point-to-point bumpers are nothing new.

There is no doubt that hunter chases pre-date point-to-points. There were also many military and farmers races which had other regulations for qualification. These have now largely disappeared. Are we now moving in the same direction with hunter chases?

Half a century ago there were still a large number of one-horse owners who trained their charge to compete in point-to-points for little more than their own pleasure and satisfaction. Now there are few of that type of owner and modern rules and regulations have made their path more difficult and expensive.

SPORT HAS ADAPTED

Despite this trend, point-to-point racing remains a competitive sport as, particularly in Ireland, it has moved with the times and adapted to a new format. As breeders are now producing young horses who mature earlier and so begin a jumps racing career at a younger age, so racing between the flags now has become a nursery ground for these.

While many like myself look back on “the good old days” we have to move with the times if our sport is to continue to hold its own in the sports leisure market.

Britain, which has somewhat stubbornly stuck to its old “tried and trusted” formula has seen a decline in runners and has at last realised that to retain its appeal it has had to embrace some of the changes initiated in Ireland. The ‘regularly and fairly hunted’ requirement has been one of the first to go.

What is somewhat surprising is that in both Britain and Ireland there had been no similar changes to racing under rules to accommodate the earlier maturing youngsters. For over 50 years now, France has staged three-year-old hurdle races in the spring.

In Ireland and Britain there are limited opportunities for four-year-old chasers. Most of the four-year-olds who compete between the flags in the spring will not jump another brush fence until the autumn of the following year at the earliest.

It is fascinating to hear this week that trainer David Pipe, who is familiar with the French programme book, plans to run the four-year-old King’s Socks, a French import, in the BetVictor Gold Cup [formerly Paddy Power] at Cheltenham in November.

IRISH SCENARIO

The new scenario here sees the majority of young point-to-pointers in the yards of a new generation of mainly young, progressive specialist trainers who are hoping to sell them on to the upper end of the market to run under rules.

Those who do not make the grade will hopefully still find a chance to race on the track, while the rest would be unlikely to have a racing career.

The current older horses’ maiden races between the flags see an increasing number of horses who have failed to win on the track and are coming to contest what is seen as an easier option in order to encourage them for a return to the bigger stage.

Of course, there are some horses who still climb the traditional ladder up to open race level but the majority of runners in these races are former track performers.

Last Sunday’s open in Co Galway attracted 18 entries but only one had never run on the track, while only another two had fewer runs under rules than in points.

It was, therefore, a pleasure to a traditionalist like myself that the eventual winner, Follow The Moon, was winning his first open having taken all the other steps on the point-to-point ladder.

Though now an 11-year-old it is to be hoped that he is still improving since he is still relatively inexperienced.

However, it is still a fact that success in hunter chases is not easy to achieve. The champion hunter chaser of the past two years, On The Fringe, admittedly has spent his whole career in hunt racing even though he does belong to leading owner J.P. McManus.

On The Fringe began his career on the bottom rung in the point-to-point field and has single-handedly raised the profile of hunter chases in recent seasons.

But we also had horses owned by other wealthy patrons coming back from top trainers to run in hunter chases in the last 12 months.

SEASONS CHANGE

When I first came to Ireland the hunt racing season begin in February and finished early in June. It still ends at the same time but now begins at the very end of September, making it some four months longer.

However, I was fascinated to see that 40 years ago (1976) there were 23 hunter chases run over birch fences plus a further two over banks. This past season, despite the longer period, there were still 23. There was also one banks race confined to hunters, while hunters could also contest another four similar contests against non-qualified runners without forfeiting hunter status. Five bumpers confined to hunters were also run.

The biggest difference was that Irish-qualified horses were unable to contest any British hunter chases in 1976 whereas now there are quite a number which allow participation. Ireland had already led the way in this respect with British-qualified horses being given their first opportunity at Fairyhouse two years previously.

MUNSTER GAINS

In 1976, the geographical distribution of the hunter chases was rather different to the present. By provinces there were 12 in Leinster, five in Munster, four in Ulster and two in Connaught. Now it is 10 for Munster, seven for Leinster and six for Ulster with Connaught now not represented.

In fact, the courses no longer featuring hunter chases cut a swathe across the middle of the island. No longer entertaining hunter chases are Navan (three such races in 1976), Ballinrobe, Roscommon, Dundalk and Kilbeggan, whereas all the new venues are Munster ones: Thurles, Tramore, Tipperary and Listowel. How much staging a hunter chase affects attendance I do not know so there may be an economic argument, but it is evident that at the three meetings where a hunter chase and point-to-point bumper share the card: Gowran, Tipperary and Cork - there is a definite plus to attendance figures.

Likewise, in Britain where the number of hunter chases has fallen, now Kempton, Sandown and Newbury are all void of such races. The hunter chase cards at Cheltenham, Fontwell and Stratford are all very popular.

While I am in no way suggesting that the hunter chase should be declared a relic of the past I do feel it must be redefined. How, I do not know, but I do feel it should not be allowed to just become another target for the super-rich owners and their top-notch trainers.

There is little doubt in my mind that these owners have spent as many days hunting as have their horses. Most will never even attend a meet of hounds.

Should some sort of qualification be imposed on owners or horses coming back from a track career for hunter chases? But then this could affect some syndicates of otherwise deserving candidates.

At present most of the horses who run in hunter chases here have to run in points to get a qualifying win so that they can be entered for the top races.

But beyond that I do feel that the hunter chase as we know it is under threat, so we have to do something to safeguard its future.