WHEN does the National Hunt season proper begin? Some might say the first Cheltenham meeting which takes place later this month. Some might say Down Royal, for their big Grade 1 chase. Some even go earlier and say Listowel’s Harvest Festival where you’d often see a good novice chaser.

With no official start, unlike the flat season, the jumps season begins whenever you want it to and for many it will start today at Gowran Park. The feature Grade 2 PWC Champion Chase holds eight runners and not one of them is rated below 150. There are also three former Cheltenham Festival winners there: Yorkhill, The Storyteller and Shattered Love.