YET again the domestic National Hunt scene was dominated by one narrative above all else as the two leviathans that are Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott did battle for another trainer’s championship and once more the first-named pulled the title out of the fire with a Punchestown Festival tour de force.

From early in the season Elliott led his great rival and it seemed as though the stage was set for him to prevail when General Principle defeated the Mullins-trained Isleofhopendreams by a head in a titanic finale to the Irish Grand National. However, it was not to be as Mullins produced his string in amazing form for Punchestown and he won 18 of the 37 races on offer over the five days – a dozen of those being six figure pots.

In another measure of what took place in the last five days of the season Mullins went into the week trailing Elliott by €500,000 in the championship but by the end of the week he had €800,000 to spare which represents a staggering turnaround.

Truly the end of last season also marked the passing of an era as two of the sport’s most celebrated amateurs, Nina Carberry and Katie Walsh, called time on their careers. In entirely fitting style both of them bowed out on a winner at the Punchestown Festival and 10 Cheltenham winners between them plus an Irish Grand National apiece are testament to their prowess.

At one point last season Willie Mullins reflected of Rachael Blackmore – “She’s not a lady jockey, she’s a good jockey.”

Likewise, Nina Carberry and Katie Walsh weren’t leading female amateurs but rather they were simply outstanding amateurs who leave behind an enviable legacy.

OUTSTANDING

Meanwhile, mention of Rachael Blackmore cannot pass without hailing her already outstanding contribution to the 2018/19 season.

She heads into the festive period vying for the jockey’s championship and her ongoing success is one of the key stories underpinning the current season.

On the home front the Mullins-Elliott domination was such that between them they won 27 of the 35 Grade 1s run in Ireland last term. However, the likes of Noel Meade, Jessica Harrington, Henry de Bromhead remain constants at the top level while Joseph O’Brien continues to have a growing influence.

It is undeniably tough going for many members of the National Hunt fraternity but innovations such as the introduction of the auction maiden hurdle series are to be welcomed. Similarly the number of maiden hurdles, beginners chases and various novice events with rating restrictions are to be welcomed and are doing their bit to help the lot of smaller trainers.

On a final note the domination of various big handicaps by powerful yards and owners has been the subject of some disquiet.

However, it is essential that such well endowed races are well if not oversubscribed and there is a lot to be said for the way various outfits support these races. Furthermore, consider this year’s Irish Grand National where Gordon Elliott ran 13 horses and Gigginstown House Stud owned 10.

There were 97 entries for the race at the first stage and come declaration time the first reserve was horse number 81 on the list. This hardly represents a case of a host of eligible and likely contenders being squeezed out by connections with the resources to do so.