'He ran a cracker at Cheltenham and will have learned a lot - he's still raw and open to lots of improvement'

There are not many stables on either side of the Irish Sea that have enjoyed a better start to the season than Gavin Cromwell's Meath-based outfit, which was demonstrated in some style at Cheltenham’s October meeting when the yard saddled five runners and returned with three winners and two seconds.

One of those successes came courtesy of dual Stayers' Hurdle winner Flooring Porter, who made a perfect start over fences, and the eight-year-old’s career is emblematic of the type of horse Cromwell tends to thrive with. The son of Yeats won a handicap hurdle at Cork in October 2019 off a mark of 105 and just over a year later he landed the Grade 1 Christmas Hurdle at Leopardstown.

Such progression has become commonplace with Cromwell's team – Final Orders rose 28lb in the ratings last season, while Stumptown also thrived under the stable's stewardship, finding 29lb of improvement throughout the campaign and was just touched off in the Kim Muir. Lucrative handicaps were also plundered with the likes of Perceval Legallois, Limerick Lace and Malina Girl, while the 2021 Albert Bartlett winner Vanillier came within two and a quarter lengths of Grand National glory at Aintree.