WE might be in the thick of the flat season proper, but this time of year is undoubtedly a frantic one for the National Hunt fraternity. From May to the end of August, there are a total of 493 jumps races scheduled in Ireland.

To put that into context, there are only marginally more races, 532, in the programme book from September to December - despite that time of year being far better regarded as a National Hunt window in the year.