The countdown is on for this year’s Cheltenham Festival (11-14 March). And this year the annual rivalry between Great Britain and Ireland is to be formally recognised.
For the first time, the newly commissioned Prestbury Cup will be awarded to the country that trains the most winners. The leading trainer from the winning country at the Festival will collect the trophy.
The competition between the 2 countries is always fierce, but it peaked last year when the Emerald Isle won a record 14 out of the 27 races.
So who will be triumphant this year? Here are a few of the major contenders from both sides of the Irish Sea for the championship races — the Champion Hurdle, World Hurdle, Champion Chase and Gold Cup.
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Martha is an experienced journalist who is mad-keen on horses and dogs. Her reporting CV includes the Paris Olympics, European championships, Aachen World Equestrian Festival and World Cup finals. After growing up with assorted liver and white springer spaniels, she enjoyed 14 years with two rescue dogs. Now, her constant companion is Fidget, an extremely energetic and habitually muddy black and white springer. Martha has written on topics as diverse as a top horse’s clone to the best GPS trackers for dogs, as well as equestrian and rural matters for Country Life, The Field, The Times, The Spectator and The Telegraph alongside Horse & Hound.
