The 2022 Cheltenham Festival is on the horizon, and looking at the early cards for the biggest races at the prestigious, four-day meeting, it looks like it is going to be another year to savour for those that make the trip across the Irish Sea from the Emerald Isles to the Cotwolds.
In recent years, the Irish have rocked up at Prestbury Park and really made their presence felt — taking home their fair share of titles and leaving the British trainers scratching theirs heads and pondering just what they can do to get back competing with the likes of Willie Mullins, Gordon Elliott and Henry de Bromhead.
First introduced in 2014, the Brits narrowly won the first couple of editions of the Prestbury Cup — a trophy awarded to the nation who won the majority of the Festival’s 28 exhilarating races. However, aside from a 14-14 draw in 2019, the hosts have been left red-faced at Cheltenham as Ireland’s odds have only grown stronger in the horse racing betting Betdaq.
Last year was arguably the most damning on record for the British owners, trainers, jockeys and horses though. A stunning Festival for De Bromhead, which seemed to come out of nowhere, and another Leading Trainer award for Mullins, taking his personal tally to eight, helped propel the Irish, who fielded just 40% of the runners, to a mammoth 23 victories — leaving the British with a mere five wins. Even top jockey Rachael Blackmore won more races than that (six)!
To add insult to injury, the Irish took home all five of the meetings feature races. De Bromhead scooped the Champion Hurdle with Honeysuckle, the Queen Mother Champion Chase with Put The Kettle On and the Gold Cup with Minella Indo, while Allaho landed the Ryanair Chase for Mullins. Flooring Porter was the shock winner of the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle for Co. Meath trainer Gavin Cromwell.
Of course, such a battering has sparked a huge debate. When asked why the Irish were so dominant, Blackmore jokingly replied: ‘I think we’re just better.’ It seems that the real reason is because, outside of the Cheltenham Festival, the Irish have bigger races and bigger prize money — meaning owners are opting to send their horses to the other side of the Irish Sea.
“It’s a bit like the Premier League versus the Championship. We simply have the best horses,” said Irish handicapper Andrew Shaw. “It’s all about the economics. The money is here, the best horses are here.”
That was evident last April. After sweeping up at Prestbury Park, there was an underwhelming contingent of Irish horses back on English soil for the Grand National Festival — aside from the main race, which, of course, was won by De Bromhead, Blackmore and Minella Times. This was because the Punchestown Festival, Ireland’s version of Cheltenham, took place in the same month and was more appealing.
Unfortunately for all those involved in British racing, it seems the Irish are going to be just as relentless this year. The ante-post markets for the Champion Hurdle, Ryanair Chase, Stayers’ Hurdle and Gold Cup, which the British haven’t won since 2018, are all dominated by Irish entries. Given Ireland’s rise in recent years, it’ll come as no surprise that they also lead the way in the top Novices’ races as well.
The real question is, if the Irish continue to win with such ease, how long before more and more owners start to overlook British racing and send their horses to Ireland? It’s certainly a concerning time!
