Phenomenal Paisley allows us Brits to forget those gaudy green banners for now

If the Cheltenham Festival is the Mount Everest of jump racing then the Irish seem to have already progressed beyond base camp, to the point where they are about to plant their flag at the summit with a haste that might be called indecent.

The days when those gigantic green, inflatable underpants were the limit of Paddy Power's ambition seem to belong to the distant past. "The Irish takeover begins in 45 days," trumpet the gaudy green banners staring straight at the busy grandstands. "The calm before the Irish storm," is the legend emblazoned around the paddock.

It's in-your-face stuff and it's not hard for a Brit to start feeling beleaguered in the face of such an onslaught, which is why we should all stand, applaud and show due respect to one of the most remarkable horses of his generation, who turned all the arguments about our festival-centric season into so much chaff in the wind.