A few questions remain after the festival

An exciting Cheltenham Festival, as always, although questions remain unanswered and one former champion’s status has been enhanced two-fold.

The unanswered questions are: would either Faugheen or Annie Power have won the Champion Hurdle at the expense of Buveur D’Air, bearing in mind the proximity of My Tent Or Yours to the winner; and would Thistlecrack have landed the Gold Cup at the expense of Sizing John, bearing in mind Native River was only three lengths off the winner?

My view is that both winners were rather lucky that those strongly fancied horses were absent, although next year we may have the chance to learn whether that opinion is justified.

Un De Sceaux: in action at Ascot

Meanwhile, what an amazing horse Sprinter Sacre really was, as surely only bad luck with his injury prevented him from winning five Champion Chases in a row, as both Special Tiara and Un De Sceaux paid further testament to his brilliance with their victories this year.

I, and I’m sure many others, would certainly rate him as the best chaser since Arkle, although I will look forward to the mouthwatering clash between Douvan and Altior next year, hoping Douvan can return to his brilliant best.