Festival fever has struck despite my best efforts - and I'm relishing it

I tried to hold out but there's no hope; I've been caught up in the Cheltenham Festival frenzy.

It was not intentional. For a long, long time I was steadfast in my belief there was too much emphasis on a single week in March. After all, we still have nine Grade 1 contests in Britain and twice as many in Ireland before the festival and a host of valuable handicaps in the interim.

Yet after a weekend of sublime performances it is impossible not to be lured into dreams of what may come in spring. How can we not? Edwardstone, Jonbon and Love Envoi secured their tickets to the festival with authoritative victories at Sandown, while Quevega looks to have produced something special in Facile Vega, despite my colleague Craig Thake's recent observation thatsuccessful racemares don't make good broodmares.