The National Hunt season is getting into full swing and already a number of horses, four to be precise, have been identified that may well help to keep us cruising along.

This weekend’s national hunt action takes place tomorrow and Willie has five runners to look forward to. He starts with Breaken, a recruit from France, where he ran on the flat three times and once over hurdles.

Not 26 years old yet and Joseph O’Brien already enjoys the ultimate badge of acceptance within the racing community. He is known simply as ‘Joseph.’ Of course, as the eldest son of Aidan and Anne-Marie O’Brien, he has had his advantages in the sport, certainly during his riding career, but as a trainer he is very much his own man.

Equine Flu is the talk of racing at the moment. I don’t know what’s going to happen or what the repercussions might be. The BHA are obviously trying to contain it. But one of the horses that ran in Ayr the other day has it now, so I don’t know how long racing in the UK will be off, writes Ruby Walsh