IT is typically in the fields of Ballinaboola, Bellharbour and Tallow that we get our first glimpse of the newest crop of four-year-olds in competitive action, but this year an all bumper card for point-to-pointers at Punchestown on Monday week will mark something of a belated resumption to the current season.

Albeit taking place in a somewhat different guise, the upcoming fixture at the Co. Kildare venue, alongside further meetings at Wexford and Tipperary throughout the month of March, does at least provide a much-needed release to the blockage in the system that has built up since the suspension of point-to-point racing in mid-January.