LISTEN up. Do you want a Cheltenham winner? Then you need to tell your agent or trainer that you want them to search for a mare. The first day at this year’s Cheltenham Festival saw seven races, five of which had a mare competing in, and they won three of them. Only seven mares ran on the day, and two races had none in the field.

This remarkable record saw a 1-2 from the three mares who competed in the centrepiece, the Grade 1 Champion Hurdle, victory for Kargese in the Grade 1 Arkle Chase, the only member of her sex in the field, while the sole mare taking on the geldings in the final race of the day, Holloway Queen, won by more than five lengths, with the rest strung out like the washing.