THREE men walk into a field in France. It sounds like the opening line to a joke but it is, in fact, a key moment in the life and career of Envoi Allen, the Cheveley Park-owned, Gordon Elliott-trained seven-year-old who is unbeaten in one point-to-point and 11 racecourse appearances, and is a scalding-hot favourite to bring his Cheltenham Festival tally to three by winning the Grade 1 Marsh Novices’ Chase.

Elevage Allen is a farm situated just outside the small village of Souvigny in central France. The increasing proliferation of Allen names winning on our tracks bears testament to the ability of Bruno Vagne’s mares to throw quality, and class.