Pitiful that racing has allowed prize-money to rob us of El Fabiolo v Jonbon at Cheltenham

Something doesn't add up. Editeur Du Gite got £52,280 for winning last year's rescheduled Clarence House Chase at Cheltenham, a Grade 1. Il Ridoto got £56,270 for winning a handicap chase on the same card, while Ahoy Senor got £67,843.20 for winning the Cotswold Chase, a Grade 2.

If Editeur Du Gite had won the original Clarence House Chase at Ascot seven days earlier he would have earned £98,473. There was a field of six at Cheltenham, whereas only three had been due to take part at Ascot, yet connections got 47.5 per cent less than the initial pot. It was daylight robbery.

And the same nonsense is now going to rob us of a rare pre-festival blockbuster next weekend. The bane of our winter lives is a lack of heavyweight bouts before the Cheltenham Festival and here we had one right in front of us, ready to go. The gum shields were in, the gloves were on and the bell had sounded.