Easy Cheltenham handicap winners are so often lauded - but all they do is erode trust in the sport

It is often said Cheltenham is the Olympics of jump racing, yet the International Olympic Committee has yet to introduce a 100-metre dash in which the fastest athlete is forced to run in flip-flops to ensure a more even contest. If it did, we wouldn’t be surprised to see sprinters 'find their legs' just once every four years, having spent the intervening seasons looking suspiciously sluggish.

And the comparison of the festival to the Olympiad is apt; it is the stage where every owner and trainer yearns to stand above all others. Following recent changes to the programme, handicaps now comprise 12 of the 28 prizes on offer at the festival. With nearly half the 'Olympic' opportunities determined by the weight cloth, it is no surprise to see the competitive pursuit of a favourable mark.

Nonetheless, it is more and more frustrating to see a horse bolt up in a way that makes a mockery of both the handicapper and its official rating. We all saw it happen this year, but the reality is it happens every year, and we should not ignore it.