National Hunt Stars Return To Training: Why A Flurry Of Twitter Videos Gets The Pulses Racing For The Jumps

We take a look at some of the videos from a few National Hunt yards that show some returning stars returning to training ahead of the new Jumps season...

It may only be the middle of July, but a plethora of star National Hunt horses have lit up social media over the last week or so, as they return from their Summer holidays. It's effectively "pre-season training" for the Jumps stars that will be looking to bag big-race success throughout the winter months, before a possible tilt at the Cheltenham Festival in the spring.

While the Summer Plate takes centre stage at Market Rasen this weekend, it's all systems go behind the scenes for the National Hunt yards, and Twitter has been awash with some fabulous behind-the-scenes videos of late, and we pick out some our favourites, as we begin a countdown to the National Hunt season.

Frodon The Star Of The Show At Team Ditcheat

One of National Hunt racing's shining lights, Frodon is set for another campaign targeting some of the premier chases in the Jumps calendar, and the former Ryanair Chase hero was strutting his stuff at Ditcheat earlier in the week. The Paul Nicholls-trained nine-year-old, who was a fine fifth in the Cheltenham Gold Cup last season, was joined by Grade 1 Celebration Chase hero Greaneteen and the exciting Aintree bumper winner Knappers Hill, as along with Enrilo the quartet did some light work at the Somerset base.

Murphy String Glisten In Fabulous Weather

Grade 1-winning trainer Olly Murphy is hoping for more success on the big stage this season with the likes of Itchy Feet, Brewin'upastorm and Thomas Darby ready to spearhead the Warren Chase yard. Murphy provided an insight to his gallops in front of beautiful blue skies last week, as a plethora of horses worked on the gallops.

Twitter Star O'Brien Welcomes Winter Stars Back

One of the most entertaining horse racing Twitter accounts to follow, Fergal O'Brien's social media can sometimes be dominated by cakes rather than horses, but the first class Jumps handler has provided some excellent footage of his winter horses returning. Using the hashtag #ReturnOfTheHack, O'Brien showed a picture perfect video of a number of horses (led by Champagne Well) going for a gentle stroll.

Young Guns Start To Emerge

We return to Paul Nicholls' yard for our final video, as we veer away from some of the proven Jumps stars, but take a look at the next generation of talent. Nicholls will undoubtedly have a strong team of bumper horses this season, with the Somerset handler hoping that a few could become stars of the future. Here a batch of them are enjoying a trot on the grass!