Cheltenham headlines belong to the winners but festival a reminder that there is honour in defeat

'To the victors, the spoils', as the saying goes. Naturally, last week's focus was chiefly on the winners and those who were expected to win but didn't. 

Now, in the spirit of this column's title, it is time to acknowledge several Cheltenham Festival performances that deserve to be seen not in terms of defeat but as minor triumphs for the stables concerned.

In a week overwhelmingly dominated by the heavy artillery, Ross O'Sullivan saddled Eagles Reign to finish second to Joseph O'Brien's well-touted Lark In The Mornin in an Irish-dominated Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle. O'Sullivan's only runner at the meeting was one of two 80-1 rank outsiders in the 22-runner field. He was maturely handled by Tom Harney, a 7lb claimer who has ridden 13 winners, five of them this season, the most recent on Eagles Reign at Punchestown in January.