Why three of Ireland's best names won't be winning at Cheltenham

The markets for this year’s Cheltenham Festival are dominated by Irish-trained horses and Willie Mullins has the strongest hand. He is responsible for seven favourites right now and many punters will be looking to put them into a multiple with the dream of landing a huge windfall.

However, is that really wise given the awful record of star Irish-trained runners in Britain this season? The all-conquering Irish have suddenly become all-floundering as one by one their big guns have misfired in Britain, with Energumene the latest to do so on Saturday.

I heard a couple of strange excuses, most notably from the great Mullins himself, who suggested Energumene wasn’t used to jumping “English white fences”. This was Energumene’s first run in Britain since guard rails, take-off boards and top boards were made that colour, and Mullins is convinced that might have played a part in his defeat.