WHO is going to take on Willie Mullins this season? Gordon Elliott is certainly giving it a good go but the champion trainer has phenomenal buying power behind him and I can see Willie mopping up in all categories once the season takes off.

Willie deserves all his success – he runs an amazing operation – but it strikes me that many of Ireland’s brightest young training talents are steering clear of the racecourse in favour of point-to-points.

Jim Culloty is fortunate to have the patronage of Dr Ronan Lambe and he has delivered the results, as has Henry de Bromhead for Alan and Ann Potts. But if you don’t have a big owner prepared to dig deep for the kind of ammunition you need to compete in Irish racing then who could blame you for concentrating on point-to-points?

Contrast this situation with the British scene, where you have the likes of Dan Skelton, Warren Greatrex, Ben Pauling, Charlie Longsdon and Harry Fry, all expanding their yards. There is a new generation of National Hunt trainers coming though in England but not so much here.

The reason for this is that it’s easier to survive financially through buying stores, running them in points and selling them on.