THE Christmas racing extravaganza proved to be an incredible advertisement for just how influential point-to-point horses have become in the wider National Hunt game on both sides of the Irish Sea.

That action on St Stephen’s Day, in particular, stood out for the sensational returns for point-to-pointing. When the juvenile races are excluded from the 10 fixtures that took place across that afternoon, horses that had run in an Irish point-to-point at the start of their careers were responsible for winning over half of the races run on the day that they were eligible for. That is a remarkable return.