There was a video of Arsenal players signing a young girl’s replica shirt before a game doing the rounds on social media recently, with the in-the-zone multi millionaire footballers rightly receiving criticism for barely acknowledging her existence.

I was reminded of it when Katie Walsh jested with Paul Townend that she might get him to smile at some stage this week after one of his Grade 1 wins. Townend laughed it off and in fairness, he has been excellent with his feedback after each win this week.

What you have to remember with him is the huge pressure he’s under to perform in every race this week because he is one bad ride away from criticism. It requires maximum focus and he hasn’t let himself down, his ride on Klassical Dream in the sensational category.

As Townend told Walsh, there will be plenty of time for enjoying himself in the Court Hotel in Naas after racing today.

Willie Mullins has dominated as expected this week, but it became notable on Thursday that his closest rivals Gordon Elliott and Henry de Bromhead would conceivably be frustrated with their own festivals. De Bromhead’s Lets Go Champ was seriously unlucky when bucked around like a rag doll in trying to make ground in the three-mile handicap hurdle and then Queen Jane fell at the last when holding a winning position in the mares’ handicap chase.

Elliott was nosed out of the first race with By Your Side and then would have been annoyed that the forecast rain never arrived for Teahupoo this week.

The pair have an enviable task, trying to take on Mullins at this festival and the ball just hasn’t rolled their way so far this week.

Monkfish was pulled up in the Champion Stayers Hurdle but Willie Mullins went out of his way to mention the nine-year-old afterwards.

He said: “Monkfish probably just wants slower ground and bigger fences to maximise his jumping but I think the two races he has had will stand to him next year, which is big because the word wasn’t good for him earlier in the season.”

You can only imagine how difficult it has been to get this massive horse back to the races after two years on the sidelines but it sounds as if the two hurdles runs he has had recently have been as much to test his physical resolve than anything else.

He has passed that test according to Mullins, and while it’s no given he won’t pick up another injury, if anyone can keep him right, it’s the 17-time champion trainer.