Shows you how things change. Eighteen Irish-trained entries in the Timico (there’s another change right there) Cheltenham Gold Cup is more than ever before (the previous high was 13) and means that the Irish entry makes up over 56% of the total entry.

Remarkable that it is as recent as 2009 that there were no Irish-trained runners in the race. And 2009 was the mid-point in a barren spell. In 2008, the Noel Meade-trained Afistfullofdollars was the only Irish runner in the Gold Cup, while in 2010 the Willie Mullins-trained Cooldine flew the Irish flag on his own (more on him later).