The first half of the National Hunt season has offered some serious cause for optimism at last

The busiest day in the racing calendar next week, with eight Boxing Day meetings dotted around the country, also marks the effective mid-point of the National Hunt season, and the half-term report on the 2024-25 campaign offers several reasons for British jumps racing to head into the new year in a generally positive frame of mind.

Jumping returned to Windsor on Sunday for the first time since 2005, and the track will join nearby Ascot in staging the “Winter Million” over three days next month. The best riders, meanwhile, have a new £500,000 prize to aim for – the rough equivalent of 10 Grand National wins at once – in the David Power Jockeys’ Cup, and while Harry Skelton has a healthy early lead, the points-based scoring system should ensure that it is still a live contest – and betting heat – at least until Cheltenham’s festival in March.