THE transition has been seamless though in some way, the real ‘tests’ are to come. But you are talking Paul Townend here, the two-time and reigning champion National Hunt jockey in Ireland, who has 10 Cheltenham Festival winners to his name including the Gold Cup in March with Al Boum Photo, and secured his 50th Grade 1 triumph on board Benie Des Dieux in the Grande Courses de Haies at Auteuil in May.

There aren’t too many examinations of his prodigious capabilities Townend has yet to experience in a stellar career that began with a bang as a 17-year-old winning the Galway Hurdle on Indian Pace for John Kiely in 2008, and was followed up with a maiden Grade 1 victory on his work partner Hurricane Fly in the Royal Bond Novice Hurdle just a few months later. So ‘tests’ seems an odd word to use.