A LOT of water has flowed under the bridge since Sprinter Sacre’s emotionally charged Champion Chase success in 2016, and even more since See You Then won his third Champion Hurdle three decades ago, but plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose, as our Gallic cousins would say.

Despite many changes to the fabric of National Hunt racing, and the waxing and waning of fortunes for his rivals for the title of champion trainer, the show goes on inexorably at Seven Barrows, with each champion lost replaced by another of similar talent.