IN a sense, the latest jumps season in Britain will be overshadowed by what happened at Cheltenham in March.

While there are certainly cracks which need mending rather than papering over, success for Paul Nicholls and Anthony Honeyball at Punchestown shows that the situation is neither desperate nor irreversible, and it should be remembered that the emergence of exceptional horses like Energumene and Shishkin in the same division is good for competition and therefore great for the sport as a whole.

The real danger in trying to shore up British racing is in making it more parochial, and while many had dire warnings to offer regarding the growing dominance of Willie Mullins a decade and more ago, Irish jumps racing has flourished for the challenge of matching the Closutton maestro’s results, just as British jumps racing responded positively to the gauntlet laid down by Martin Pipe in the 1990s.

The answer to a problem of dominance is always learning how to rise to the challenge rather than finding a way of clipping the wings of the high-fliers.

Fresh beginnings

So, there will be a feeling of fresh beginnings to the 2021/22 season, with a new champion jockey in Harry Skelton, and a trainer hungry for championships in his brother Dan.

Paul Nicholls gained his 12th trainer’s title, and you can bet he will be determined to better his old enemy Martin Pipe’s record of 15 before he thinks about relaxing.

Nicholls is a great believer of running the right horses in the right races, and while that sometimes means skipping Cheltenham, success with Clan Des Obeaux at Punchestown shows the wisdom of this approach, and he is likely to lead any British offensive on the Dublin Racing Festival.

That excellent meeting would benefit from competition of the English variety, and if Nicholls deems it suitable, then others may follow.

It will be odd to have a new season sans Dickie Johnson, and his absence will give opportunities to other riders. Can one of those riders challenge for title honours?

Colin Tizzard will also be departing the training ranks, and it is to be hoped that Joe will be able to retain the yard’s current owners and recruit a few more, as strength in the Tizzard barns is essential in maintaining healthy competition.

In that regard, 2021/22 will be an important season for Nicky Henderson, now in his 43rd year with a licence, and entitled to be slowing down and thinking more about carpet slippers than racing plates.

Can he continue to maintain his drive, and does he have the fight for another championship battle. More to the point, does he have the horses? As always, only time will tell.