Heaven help me for failing to follow my own strategy

What a week it was at Cheltenham. With the sport under the spotlight for the wrong reasons leading into its biggest festival of the year, stars – human and equine – put on a show to remember and meant racing was headlining mainstream news channels for the right reasons.

Rachael Blackmore’s success in becoming the first female champion jockey at the festival is something the sport should be immensely proud of. If you were to ask a stranger to name five jockeys currently riding they might well mention Hollie Doyle and Rachael Blackmore and that is not because of their sex, but because they are so bloody good at their jobs.

The other big story of the week was the pummelling Ireland gave Britain in the Prestbury Cup, and while I have zero interest in the competition there are clearly huge issues that need addressing – and it needs to start with the handicap system.