New year, new hope - and a new star might be born on intriguing Cheltenham card

If the first day of a new year is not the time for optimism, when is? And, unfashionable though it may be, there are reasons to smile this January 1.

True, as Omicron has followed Delta and a high-profile case in the High Court has followed another before the BHA disciplinary panel, the wider population and the racing world have not had their problems to seek of late.

Yet a glance at New Year's Day racecards shows we are making a much brighter start to this year than we did in 2021.