The London Times of 10 March 1922 drily recorded: ‘It is very seldom that Irish racing and hunting people make a determined attack on an English meeting without paying at least their expenses. One gathers that they did more than that yesterday.’ The Times was chronicling Connemara Black’s triumph in the Foxhunters’ Challenge Cup – a victory greeted as Ireland’s first at Cheltenham.

Things have moved on since then and at last year’s Cheltenham Festival Irish-trained horses won 18 of the 28 races, not quite as spectacular as their feat of winning 23 in 2021 but still a phenomenon that had England’s racing fraternity scratching around feverishly for excuses. When the Anglo-Irish rivalry renews at this year’s Festival, few are expecting a different outcome: the Irish are 9-1 on to prevail again. Looking at races that set up the champions of the future, there is just one English-trained horse in the first seven quoted for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. In the Triumph Hurdle, the first four quoted are all trained in Ireland and in the Champion Bumper none of the first eight in the betting is trained outside Ireland: four of them come from Willie Mullins’s yard, which clocked up ten winners at last year’s Festival.

Let us hope that the conflicting patriotisms are all we have to be concerned about next week, although I fear that will not be the case. English jockeys who have nevertheless found it hard to comply have had a bedding-in period to get used to new rules on use of the whip. Their Irish counterparts haven’t and top jockeys involved in more close finishes are likely to be under the greatest strain, facing penalties and disqualifications. It isn’t a good time to be first enforcing the new rules and a crucial week for the sport could be dominated by the wrong sort of headlines.

For those of us looking for Cheltenham clues, Newbury’s fixture on Saturday offered little encouragement. The most spectacular success of the day was the 11-length success of Paul Nicholls’s Seeyouinmydreams in the mares’ bumper, but she goes next to Aintree, not Cheltenham. Matata, successful in the all-conquering green colours of Simon Munir and Isaac Souede in the novices’ handicap hurdle, clearly has great ability but was a headstrong handful for jockey Daryl Jacob. There were, though, welcome Saturday victories for two thoughtful trainers who know how to add up a row of beans. Northamptonshire-based David Dennis has had the 12-year-old Cyclop since he was three. He calls him the sort of consistent horse who never grabs headlines but always does the job. After the oldest competitor had won the three-mile veterans’ chase, he declared: ‘He’s not very big, so when you run him in a big field he can get intimidated. These veterans’ chases with fewer runners are made for him: he loves his jumping in a smaller field.’

Former jockey Henry Oliver, who has a dozen boxes in part of the historic Kinnersley yard made famous by Grand National-winning trainer Fred Rimell, boasts a respectable strike rate of 11 victories from 63 runs this season and had a winner at Doncaster the same afternoon as his The Big Bite prevailed in a tense struggle to the line with Gemirande in the Greatwood Gold Cup Handicap Chase. He had won on his debut for the yard in 2020 and run well in the event previously. A drop in his handicap mark and the addition of cheekpieces proved just what was needed on good ground and there could be yet more to come for his patient owners.

The other notable victory at Newbury, though, was that of the eight-year-old top weight Dargiannini for trainer Harry Derham and jockey Paul O’Brien in the seniors’ handicap hurdle. Hampered early by a faller, he made steady progress and kept on well after a somewhat flat-footed jump at the last. His first-season trainer, based in the Lambourn yard owned by Flat jockey Oisin Murphy, is making rapid strides as is only to be expected from the former assistant to his uncle Paul Nicholls. Harry quit the saddle early during his time at Ditcheat to concentrate on the training side and it has paid off: he scored with his very first runner Seelotmorebusiness at Wincanton on Boxing Day and Dargiannini, who also won at Uttoxeter, was his sixth winner from just 28 runs. Uncle Paul told me approvingly: ‘I told him the horse would win a couple of races if he placed him right and he’s done the job nicely.’ Clearly plenty of the Nicholls work ethic has stuck. Harry told us after Dargiannini’s win: ‘I love this track and I really thought this lad would win. I had my first winner as a professional jockey here steering round one of Paul’s. I won by about a million lengths and the poor horse never won again because I’d won too far. It’s a lovely place to have as your local track and I was able to ride out four lots this morning before coming here.’