Dan Skelton: we've got to learn from Cheltenham drubbing and make changes

Leading trainer Dan Skelton has called on British racing to pick itself up off the floor after last week's Cheltenham Festival "drubbing" at the hands of Ireland, making an impassioned plea for everyone involved in the industry to start making the necessary changes that can help redress the balance of power.

The festival was a sobering one for the home team, yielding just five winners for horses trained in Britain compared to a record 23 for Ireland.

Skelton described that scoreline as a whitewash and the perfect illustration that racing in Britain is "on the slide", with serious change needed to safeguard the sport for future generations, while Gold Cup-winning trainer Colin Tizzard thinks now is the time for Britain to consider introducing its own version of the Dublin Racing Festival to help get some big-race practice in before Cheltenham in March.