MUCH was made of the dominance of Gordon Elliott and Willie Mullins last week. Again, it is to be celebrated. Two trainers, two Irish trainers, scaling peaks that appeared to be insurmountable less than a decade ago. And the duel is good. They push each other to go higher and, in so doing, they push the bar higher. They push others to stretch.

They have both got there on their own too. Willie Mullins may be the son of the legendary Paddy Mullins, but he still built his training operation up from the bottom. It is just over 20 years since Tourist Attraction and Wither Or Which. There were no golden spoons, no fast tracks to the top.