IRISH horses are welcome to contest a new series of jump races designed to stimulate the National Hunt sector in the north of England and Scotland.

This week the British Horseracing Authority announced details of the ‘Northern Lights’ series which will see 75 qualifying events staged from Doncaster upwards and will culminate in five £25,000 finals at Carlisle in December 2017.

The series designed to provide incentive to own and train horses in the north of Britain and stimulate investment into the grass roots of the sport in this region. However, a BHA spokesman told The Irish Field: “If an Irish horse came over to run in two qualifiers and finished in the first eight in one of them then they would be eligible for the final.” The five series and their corresponding £25,000 finals are a three-mile handicap chase series, a two and a half-mile handicap chase series, a two-mile handicap hurdle series, a three-mile handicap hurdle series and a two and a half mile handicap chase series for mares.