It's utterly bonkers to remove obstacles in jump races - and a dangerous trend

As a former jockey, I am always reluctant to criticise the weighing room as a collective because I know how punishing an existence they live.

However, Sunday’s Greatwood Hurdle was the straw that broke the camel’s back when it comes to the increasingly common practice of fences and hurdles being omitted due to a low-lying sun.

It has become a blight on jump racing that ruins too many big races at this time of year. Jockeys, more than anyone else, are the ones with the power here and they are a lot quicker to demand the removal of obstacles than used to be the case.