Less valuable, less competitive, many more handicaps: Britain v Ireland in data

The Cheltenham Festival wasn't even complete before the inquest started. By a mere short head did the home team avoid a complete whitewash on day two, Sky Pirate prevailing by that margin in the Grand Annual to provide the only British success versus six for Ireland on the day.

Irish trainers had handed out drubbings before but this was different. Dominant in the novice division, dominant in the championship races and dominant in the handicaps, they were simply relentless – as they were again a few weeks later in the Grand National.

Many theories have been put forward as to why Ireland is so far ahead: everything from the state of prize-money in Britain, the bloated fixture list, the exodus of big-spending owners, the buoyant point-to-point market in Ireland and even a potent combination of them all. But are any of those theories supported by the data from last season?