Reasons to be fearful: jump racing's very existence might even be at risk unless major issues are addressed

I will never forget the cold shiver Henry Daly sent down my spine when relaying his fears that jump racing would cease to exist in his lifetime when I visited his yard in 2022.

Daly wouldn't be an unnecessary doom-monger by any stretch of the imagination, which is perhaps why his concerns for a sport to which he has dedicated his life had such a profound impact on me. If someone as smart and seasoned as him feared for the game then surely the rest of us should be living in dread too.

There was a moment last week, in the company of a trainer at the other end of his career to Daly, when I was overcome with the same feeling as we discussed the current health of the jumps industry.