No runners for Willie Mullins, Elliott or De Bromhead at Cheltenham - but Irish runners on the rise at non-festival meetings

The powerhouse Irish jumps stables of Willie Mullins, Gordon Elliott and Henry de Bromhead were drawn into the news this week after it emerged the BHA is considering plans to limit the number of horses any trainer can have in major handicaps, but the Cheltenham Festival has long been a battleground attracting an increasing presence from Ireland.

However, there are signs Irish attention has also switched to the non-festival meetings at Prestbury Park, as horses trained in Ireland have accounted for nearly 20 per cent of the runners at Cheltenham this season, continuing a trend of increased participation at the track's meetings. It was 14.9 per cent last season and just five and a half per cent in the 2019-20 season.

Gavin Cromwell leads the way in the trainer standings at the track this season and added a sixth winner from just 14 runners when La Malmason claimed the mares' handicap chase on Friday, and he is again a man to fear on Saturday when he saddles Railway Hurricane and Malina Girl.