Ireland had waited a decade for a top two-mile chaser - then two came along at once and served up an epic

Greatest Festival Duels - No. 15
Klairon Davis v Sound Man, 1995 Arkle

At the time of the 1995 Cheltenham Festival, Ireland had waited a decade for a top two-mile chaser, bereft of a star since the untimely death of Buck House in 1986. Then the Arkle threw up not one outstanding performer but two, so evenly matched that just half a length separated them in one of the most enthralling clashes of the era.

Boreen Prince, in 1985, had been the last Irish-trained winner of the Arkle. But now two Irish trainers personally and familially associated with Cheltenham Festival success had found leading candidates for the 1995 running.