AFTER organising a Ballydoyle press morning for the purpose of building up to the 2024 Irish Champions Festival, you could understand if there was some frustration on the organisers’ behalf when City Of Troy - who is not heading to next week’s two-day meeting - ended up hogging many of the headlines that followed.

Make no mistake, though, City Of Troy is the standout Irish horse of the 2024 season and ranks as Aidan O’Brien’s highest-profile Galáctico for some time. Whenever connections talk up his upcoming bid to break new ground on the dirt at Del Mar, that is something fully deserving of prominent, mainstream coverage. It is only a shame for those trying to drum up interest in the Leopardstown-Curragh weekend that he is Southwell-bound instead of heading to south Dublin.

What could be viewed as an even bigger challenge for those trying to big up the profile of flat racing on these shores is the looming presence of the National Hunt season proper coming into view. Never mind a focus on other major flat meetings in the autumn, across the past couple of weeks one thing we have not been short on is updates on jumps performers. It has all felt a bit over the top for this early in the year.

From Nicky Henderson speaking about Constitution Hill’s new living arrangements at Seven Barrows on August 28th, to Harry Cobden expressing his excitement at the untapped potential in Paul Nicholls’ yard a couple of days earlier, Barry Connell weighing up a Queen Mother Champion Chase bid for Marine Nationale and the latest running plans for Gerri Colombe, the cup of National Hunt diehards has certainly been overflowing lately in terms of stories on major names.

I get it. National Hunt racing is undoubtedly the more popular of the two codes, and there is certainly an element of giving the people what they want. To be clear, it’s not just media outlets who are giving the jumps early oxygen either. The growing social media chatter in recent weeks about Cheltenham Festival targets, and even possible Triumph Hurdle candidates popping up from France, all feels a bit intoxicating this far out.

When Cheltenham chat is already in flow by late August, it has all the feelings of walking into a shop and seeing bundles of Christmas decorations for sale long before we’ve even reached Halloween.

Jumping rush

After all, it has only been four months since the curtain came down on the Punchestown Festival, and we’re still a fortnight away from the Listowel Harvest Festival. As for the flat, it’s not as though the season has wound down by any means.

There are still six flat Group 1s down for decision in Ireland next weekend, 12 in Britain before the year is out (including British Champions Day and the St Leger) and 13 in France (primarily Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe weekend at ParisLongchamp). That’s before we even think about the Breeders’ Cup extravaganza across the pond and all the top-class Australian action that rolls around the Melbourne Cup.

Despite all of that, the racing public’s appetite on these shores appears to be all the stronger for National Hunt racing - no matter what the time of year it is. Ireland’s influence on international flat racing is immense, yet it simply never appears to engage the masses like jumping. Attendances at meetings across the country - whether they be marquee festivals or mid-week cards - appear to reflect similar preferences.

That dynamic can feel a bit perplexing at times when you consider the products the two codes can offer in some respects. For example, in 2023, 7.6% of all races on the flat were won by odds-on shots. The share of odds-on winners over jumps that year was more than double the flat rate - 16.6%.

Conservative campaigning of leading National Hunt performers often frustrates followers of the sport, and a bloated graded programme book can give connections the opportunity to swerve clashes through the winter months.

Glut of Grade 1s

Of course, prominent flat campaigners also can be kept apart at times but there is probably not the same scope for ducking and diving. During the last Irish National Hunt season there were 39 different Grade 1 events. Just 13 exist in the Irish calendar year on the flat - three times fewer than over jumps.

Much has obviously been spoken about the controversial new series of races set to be rolled out next year for trainers with less than 50 Irish National Hunt winners in either of the last two seasons. Whether you are in agreement with or against the principle of how these races are intended to be programmed, one thing that cannot be denied is the considerable shift in the National Hunt landscape in recent times.

For example, in the 2003/’04 National Hunt season in Ireland, a total of 16 different trainers saddled more than 20 winners over the course of the campaign. The top two in the table, Noel Meade and Willie Mullins, notched 77 and 70 winners apiece.

Fast forward 20 years to the season just gone, and only five trainers registered more than 20 winners in the campaign (down from 16 trainers two decades earlier). The top two, Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott, racked up a staggering 257 and 207 winners respectively in Ireland alone. There is no getting away from this significant shake-up to the scene.

To be clear, highlighting the challenges facing jump racing isn’t to suggest that I don’t have a massive passion for the game. The reason that many have been flagging issues like these within the sector’s make-up is to ensure its long-term wellbeing, because we care immensely about its success and longevity.

Come the depths of winter and spring, I will be as immersed and excited as anyone. No doubt. But there is so much left to savour before the flat season wraps up and early Festival chat can wait for just a moment. A time for all seasons, in their own good time.