AND speaking of confounding the doubters, Easy Game won again last Sunday. He won the Grade 2 Navan Novice Hurdle, a race that has a star-studded roll of honour.

The Barastraight gelding is the horse on whom Ruby Walsh made a victorious return to action from his broken leg at the Galway Festival at the end of July. He was beaten on his next two runs after that and, when he beat Magnium and Choungaya in the Grade 3 Monksfield Novice Hurdle at Navan last month, the general feeling appeared to be that Willie Mullins had better novice hurdlers at home. Now that he has won again, stepping up in grade and producing another career-best, it may be time to take him seriously.

The Wicklow Bloodstock gelding was Willie Mullins’ number one in a race that he has won in the last decade with Next Destination, Bellshill, Briar Hill, Pont Alexandre and Boston Bob, and before that with Mikael D’Haguenet.

Gordon Elliott has won it twice in that period with Death Duty and No More Heroes, and Jessica Harrington has won it once with Oscars Well. It is as illustrious a roll of honour as you will find in any novice hurdle on either side of the Irish Sea this side of March.

Easy Game may have been viewed initially as a summer jumper. But some summer jumpers can also become winter and spring jumpers. Carlingford Lough was once a summer jumper.