Let's prove a point and run the Mares' Hurdle on Midlands National day at Uttoxeter

While I am generally a fan of black-and-white thinking, there is too much of it when it comes to the Mares' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

Scrapping it, as some propose, would be rash – today's oversized Pattern ought to have room for one sex-restricted Grade 1. When it comes to the race's right to exist, you have to agree with those who argue it is important for breeding.

What the Mares' Hurdle does not have is a divine right to exist at the Cheltenham Festival. No breeding page in any sales catalogue I have ever seen has marked Cheltenham wins in a different colour or typeface. The scale tops out with Grade 1s.