Get set for St Mullins' Day as Willie readies his big guns for day two

Much has been made of the jarring contrast between last year's Cheltenham Festival cacophony and the 2021 empty vessel that lends itself to a more figurative noise.

Results mined in Prestbury Park over these four days will always reverberate, regardless of whether the stands are heaving to breaking point or rattling with a hollow soullessness. Victory in the Cotswolds in March is something that echoes through eternity, but the difference between the last days of Rome vibe that prevailed in 2020 and Tuesday's sterile functionality was nonetheless startling.

For all that, though, there was also an eerily uncomfortable sense of deja vu when the week dawned on Monday. Altior, once again, was an eleventh-hour scratching from the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase.