Willie Mullins is still streets ahead of the pack - and claiming anything else after Cheltenham is pure fantasy

Nearly a week on, most of the bones have been picked out of what was an enormously entertaining Cheltenham Festival.

From the calamitous starts that led to leading British owner Max McNeill blaming Irish jockeys and a similarly unedifying spat between Declan Queally and Nico de Boinville, and on to JP McManus and Willie Mullins firing both barrels at Jon Pullin over the state of the ground, the four days were laced with a tension that certainly added to the drama. 

It didn't end there, either, as it emerged since that Gavin Sheehan, Charlie Deutsch, JJ Slevin and Patrick Mullins were among those slapped with hefty whip bans. Each rider's endeavours contributed immensely to the enjoyment last week and no-one was offended by their efforts, because they weren't excessive and in each case their mounts were responding for pressure. They sent us all home in glee, only to get hit with swingeing sanctions when the rest of the world has moved on. It remains one of British racing's most wrong-headed, disproportionate injustices.