THIS weekend sees the 30th running of the Irish Gold Cup. The three-mile contest has always been well supported, ever since its introduction to the calendar in 1987. In the first decade of its existence it was dominated by runners from England, and only twice in that period did an Irish-trained horse land the spoils.

Incredibly, since then the English challengers have landed a winning blow just twice, while Willie Mullins has proven to be the dominant force, winning on nine of the last 17 occasions.