IT used to be thrown about by National Hunt diehards that flat racing was the game for high-flying millionaires, and that jumping was much more about the everyman, grassroots operator. The picture is by no means that straightforward nowadays, however.

Yes, taking on the global giants of flat racing, who have eye-watering budgets, can be a gargantuan task, but the gap between the top National Hunt operations at the rest has never been bigger than it is right now. Look no further than some of the staggering prices paid for point-to-pointers at the Goffs Punchestown Sale and Tattersalls Cheltenham Festival Sale, and you’ll have a fair idea of the type of spend that is at those high-end jumping players’ disposal.