How do you stop Willie Mullins? I thought other trainers needed to up their game - it turns out that's far too simple
This year's Cheltenham Festival raised more questions than answers. Perhaps one day it will be just a race meeting again and we can spend 11 months a year not worrying about it.
Prices seem to have been a bone of contention and attendance was down, although it would take a lot more than an expensive hotel room to persuade me – as it seems to have persuaded some people – that watching the action on a big screen in Benidorm is the way forward. It's the kind of thing I'd pay good money to avoid, even if hungry tigers were set loose in the betting ring.
I'm a great believer in the free market, though. I like to think that if you keep on charging way too much for Guinness, people will stop buying it, although the response to our last on-course survey into whether people thought £7.50 was too much to pay for a pint at Cheltenham was mostly to say 'Yes', and then buy another pint. Perhaps we haven't reached tipping point just yet, or maybe the Jockey Club's people have got it right and there isn't a tipping point.
Read the full story
Read award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing, with exclusive news, interviews, columns, investigations, stable tours and subscriber-only emails.
Subscribe to unlock
- Racing Post digital newspaper (worth over £100 per month)
- Award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing
- Expert tips from the likes of Tom Segal and Paul Kealy
- Replays and results analysis from all UK and Irish racecourses
- Form study tools including the Pro Card and Horse Tracker
- Extensive archive of statistics covering horses, trainers, jockeys, owners, pedigree and sales data
Already a subscriber?Log in
- The time is right for racing's answer to Pep Guardiola to shine once again
- A striker in need of a goal: Kieran Shoemark hasn't become a bad jockey overnight, he just needs a break
- Cartmel's unique experience makes a refreshing change - it must be protected at all costs
- Farcical contradiction in the Gambling Bill will see racing and betting pushed closer together
- Should private equity or sovereign wealth be offered a slice of racing's crown jewels? We won't know until we take a look
- The time is right for racing's answer to Pep Guardiola to shine once again
- A striker in need of a goal: Kieran Shoemark hasn't become a bad jockey overnight, he just needs a break
- Cartmel's unique experience makes a refreshing change - it must be protected at all costs
- Farcical contradiction in the Gambling Bill will see racing and betting pushed closer together
- Should private equity or sovereign wealth be offered a slice of racing's crown jewels? We won't know until we take a look