more thoughts on the cheltenham festival 2024.

​There is a crusade, led mainly by the likes of Kevin Blake and Matt Chapman, to persuade the rest of us that wholesale alterations need to be put in place by both Cheltenham in regard to the National Hunt Festival and more generally by the B.H.A. to ‘level-up’ the playing field between Ireland and Britain. I now agree with those who pine for the days of the 3-day Festival, though only because it will improve competitiveness and stop trainers opting for the easier option rather than patronise the major races. Also, the 12-month racing programme in Britain is definitely in dire need of fixing. But neither of these radical improvements, if they should actually happen, will ‘level-up’ the playing field. We should stop fixating on the Prestbury Cup, the domination of Ireland at the Festival, as there is no domination. Ireland in general is not miles ahead of Britain. It is Willie Mullins who is miles ahead of everyone else, Irish trainers included. As Gordon Elliott said last week. ‘You only have to face him at Cheltenham, I have to take him on every day back home.’
A good example of the Willie Mullins domination is that not only he is home and hosed in the Irish trainers’ championship; as a result of the success of his raiding party last week, he now sits third in the British trainers’ championship and if he added the Grand National to his spoils there is a definite chance, if he put his mind to it, that he could end the season champion this year in both his homeland and in Britain. Incidentally, Gordon Elliott now lies 10th in the British championship and Henry de Bromhead 16th.
To return to Kevin Blake, who seems hellbent on becoming Ireland’s version of Matt Chapman, delighting in concocting controversy. He is right in his assertion that something needs to be done about some of the races at the Cheltenham Festival, accepting, seemingly, that a 4-day Festival is what the sport needs and deserves right now. Where he is miles off-course in his thinking is when he derides British trainers by saying they are not hungry enough to tackle and defeat the Irish invasion of our land. Dan Skelton, does he display signs of cowardice in the face of the enemy? Or Paul Nicholls? And does Ben Pauling have the look of a man cowering in fear of the green army banging at the door, a man who had a winner and 2 seconds last week from very few runners?
If Paul Nicholls trained Ballyburn would the result of the Gallaghers been different last week? If Dan Skelton had Fact or File would the result of the Brown Advisory been different? Does Willie Mullins possess a magic potion that would have allowed him to win those races with other horses in his stable, regardless if Ballyburn or Fact of File were in opposition?
Believe it or not, there was a time when Willie Mullins could not lay a glove on Paul Nicholls at the Festival or at any time throughout the season. In fact, Irish trainers were in fear of Paul Nicholls sending horses over to run in their major races. Remember Denman winning what is now the Savills at Leopardstown?
As the wise man that is Ruby Walsh has prophesied, the wheel turns. In ten-years we might be asking, what has gone wrong at Closutton? Perhaps. Not that I would want the Mullins empire to crumble. All we are asking and hoping for is that his counterparts in Ireland and Britain close the gap, for the top-class horses to be spread around evenly, for British owners to look beyond Closutton and to give the British trainers, especially the up and coming, the ammunition to do battle with the great man on terms a bit more equal than they are at present.