'I was berated for comparing this horse to Denman - but I wasn't far wrong'

The Irish have won. What other conclusion could you reach when the most competitive and bombastic of British jump trainers in Paul Nicholls seems to be sizing up the opposition coming across the Irish Sea and thinking the task of winning might just be too great?

But don't despair, for while Nicholls may have been typically open in terms of his view of the Irish runners and his intentions to bypass the Cheltenham Festival with some horses who might have run at the meeting in previous years, the ferocious competitiveness that has driven him to 12 trainers' championships is as potent as ever.

Instead, his years of experience and handling of countless Cheltenham winners – 46 to be precise – have led Nicholls to adopt the approach of a sniper this year, attempting to pick off high-value targets with his best shots rather than preparing great swathes of runners from Ditcheat to head to the festival en masse.