THE generally held opinion that National Hunt racing is the sport of the small man has taken a few knocks in recent years. Over jumps, big-spending owners are dominating the top races. And that was before the average for a three-year-old store horse reached over €50,000 this week.

The Royal meeting at Ascot may attract the elite thoroughbreds and the breeding dynasties of the world but an analysis of the winners from the two big festivals of each section of the sport make for interesting comparisons.

Of the 28 winners at the Cheltenham Festival probably only three – Un De Sceaux (Ryanair Chase), Flying Tiger (Fred Winter) and Old Domesday Book (Kim Muir) – were owned by syndicates or what would be considered among the ‘smaller’ owners. And that was even with 10 handicaps over the four days. A total of 12 of the 28 winners came from the J.P. McManus, Alan Potts, Gigginstown House, Rich Ricci and Graham Wylie fivesome.

Of the 30 winners from Royal Ascot, there were seven handicaps with the likes of Zhui Feng, Out Do and Snoano winning for smaller outfits.

The two-year-olds Rajasinghe (Rebel Racing), Heartache (The Hot To Trot Syndicate), and Different League (who only cost €8,000) showed those with small amounts of money can still hit it big. Even Group 1 winner The Tin Man came from a syndicate set up with just two horses.

What was notable is that if you are getting in to racing, you are just as likely to be part of a winner among the elite at Royal Ascot as among the perceived ‘ordinary’ man at Cheltenham.