As I still pass for a young man, at least in racing terms, it’s easy for me to take Irish success at the Cheltenham Festival for granted. That’s because I have never experienced anything else.

Records for Irish-trained winners at Cheltenham have toppled four times during my racing lifetime and the record-equalling tally of seven winners in 1996 had doubled to 14 winners by 2013. Of course, the greater number of races at the meeting has made bigger tallies more achievable, but there are more significant factors at play.