Ascot's horror Saturday raises serious questions - even without a blame game

There is absolutely no doubt British jump racing has a problem. What I am less convinced about is what happened at Ascot on Saturday was a crystal-clear manifestation of that problem.

It is not that the Cheltenham Festival has become too big, per se, for we should want the sport's crowning glory to be as big as it can possibly be. The festival has, however, quite plainly reached a size that leaves too many of the major races that precede it in an increasingly dark shadow. That has damaged the popularity of those winter contests, yet so has the equally undeniable fact there are too many Graded race opportunities for the number of high-class horses in the British population.

Something is being done about that. I was one of those who worked on the Quality Jump Racing Review, as a result of which there should hopefully be significant changes in the 2023-24 programme. Indeed, Nicky Henderson spoke at Ascot of having been informed by the BHA that the Contenders Hurdle has already been axed from Sandown's February Saturday. The competitiveness of the core jumps season will be enhanced if similar action is taken elsewhere.