Sheer number of quality horses this spring has meant it's more than just the trainers' title which has gripped us jumps fans

The last few weeks of the British jumps season were really special – but it wasn’t necessarily the fight to become champion trainer that gripped me. Instead it was an indirect consequence of that battle that made the month of April so thrilling: simply the number of quality horses we got to see running.

Jump racing has long had issues with the infrequency with which the best horses appear. During the winter, you might be lucky to see certain jumpers run even once or twice as everything is sacrificed at the altar of the Cheltenham Festival.

The post-Cheltenham weeks always tend to be busier, but that has really gone into overdrive in the last couple of seasons, driven largely by Willie Mullins’ interest in the trainers’ title. In 2022 and 2023 combined he saddled a total of 31 runners in Britain in April, yet last year he had as many as 63 for the month, and that has increased to 91 this time around.