THIS year’s late spring hunter chase schedule has certainly had a congested look about it and it has done little to uphold the quality within these races.

With Easter falling at the end of April this year, there has already been the shorter than ideal gap between the traditional hunter chases at Easter like the Joseph O’Reilly at Fairyhouse and Jack Tyner Memorial in Cork, and those that took place a week later at the Punchestown Festival, including the Champion Hunter Chase.