Jumping ability no longer crucial for winning big races, as shown by I Am Maximus’s Grand National victory.

I would describe myself as an oafish, clumsy individual, but I never thought being a lummox was any good when it came to jump racing. However, at Aintree last week lummoxes were winning left, right and centre and I just wonder whether being a good jumper is much less important in the modern National Hunt world than it’s been in any previous time in its history. Before Cheltenham, I was surprised to hear loads of jockeys saying that us pundits can say what they like about the tricky nature of the course, but the fences were much smaller and softer than the ones at Leopardstown and that jumping isn’t as important as many suggested it is. Of course, that wasn’t totally borne out because El Fabiolo fluffed his lines in the Champion Chase, and at the weekend Corach Rambler did the unthinkable and unshipped his rider at the first in the Grand National.

However, neither of them actually fell and it was more the way they landed that caused them to exit their races rather than the stiffness of the fences. For example, Delta Work hit the first in the National on Saturday but didn’t come down, so while the fences still have to be jumped if you hit one you have to be unlucky to get rid of the jockey.