They say make hay while the sun shines - but proceed with caution if you're a backer of favourites over jumps

The debate about the future of summer jump racing this week, prompted by my colleague Lee Mottershead, brought to mind one of my father’s old friends, who loved nothing more than backing odds-on favourites in jump races. 

I can even recall his delight one year at just 25 runners being declared for a bank holiday meeting at Huntingdon while the rest of our party were thoroughly dispirited.

He would have had plenty to go after this year given the small fields and vast number of short-priced horses, prompted by the unusually dry weather in Britain, and the thought prompted me to have a look at what’s been happening to those supposed good things.