Can the village's new sand gallop help jumps trainers make festival waves?

The 23-5 scoreline in favour of Ireland at last season's Cheltenham Festival probably did not reflect too badly on Lambourn given the village supplied two of the British winners.

That said, both were trained by Nicky Henderson, who prepared Arkle hero Shishkin and Marsh winner Chantry House on his private Seven Barrows slopes rather than the public gallops a few miles (by road) away. And while Henderson, although born in south London, is as Lambourn as they come and cut his teeth with valley legend Fred Winter, apart from the charismatic 70-year-old's triumphs most of the recent high-profile success in the area has come on the Flat.

That is not necessarily a bad thing, despite what the ghosts of Winter and his big rival and fellow jumps titan Fulke Walwyn might think, as it has been a pleasure to witness Roger Teal, Archie Watson and Ed Walker emerging as Group 1-winners at a time when some of their winter colleagues are in rebuilding phases. And it probably doesn't matter to the Jockey Club, which owns and maintains the gallops in Upper Lambourn, if its surfaces are a springboard to Royal Ascot rather than Cheltenham Festival glory.