'British trainers are so afraid' - Henrietta Knight pulls no punches once more

Henrietta Knight may not have the look of a bare-knuckle boxer, but if recent events are a guide she's the kind of woman you'd want on your side in a scrap. Boarding-school biology teacher she may have been, rather more bluestocking than black belt, but if there's an argument worth having or a status quo that needs its nose tweaking, then 'Hen' is just the woman for the job, as British racing found to its cost in the run-up to the Cheltenham Festival.

"I think most people thought it was quite funny and knew it was a bit tongue in cheek," says the grande dame of the game, recalling the furore that followed her suggestion that the 'home team' of trainers was no match for their Irish counterparts, but there's no sense that she's backing down.

This, after all, is the woman who trained Best Mate to win three Gold Cups and a King George, so nobody can accuse her of not knowing her onions, and lately, with a couple of learned books under her belt, she's become accepted as something of a sage, a meticulous analyst of racing's foibles and faults who comments without fear, favour or self-interest.