CONGRATULATIONS go to the enterprising bookie who bet on whether or not there would be a winner by a nose – the smallest margin possible – over the four days of the Cheltenham Festival. They offered a shade of odds on about each of the two outcomes and got plenty of interest in the “no” option (which I made about 4/6 to occur).

They got a “yes” in the Marsh Novices’ Chase on the opening race on Thursday courtesy of Samcro, plus a handful of other near misses.