BANKER or bust? That is the question posed of the Cheltenham Festival’s warmest favourites every year in the run-up to the greatest show on turf – especially in an era when odds-on favourites are more common than ever at the meeting.

It’s difficult to find many punters or pundits who will be eager to oppose Constitution Hill in the Champion Hurdle, and it might be a similar story with Marine Nationale in the Arkle - the shortest-priced ante-post favourite for the meeting who is trained in Ireland.