Last year’s winner Clan Des Obeaux provided Paul Nicholls with a record 11th victory in the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase.

One of the principle reasons that National Hunt racing is more popular than the flat is that you build relationships with horses that can sustain for years and this was proved again and again this week.

Forget about it. Erase it from your memory entirely. No need to ever mention it again. The monkey is off his back forever. After all the near-misses and the talk of the glaring omission from his CV, Willie Mullins has now won the Magners Cheltenham Gold Cup. Al Boum Photo and Paul Townend ensured so with an authoritative display in the feature on the final day of the 2019 Festival.

It’s hard to recall a more open Cheltenham Gold Cup than the one that will unfold before our eyes at 3.30pm this afternoon. Of the 16 set to go to post in the Magners-sponsored Cheltenham Festival highlight, only four can be dismissed with real confidence – it really is that open.

From Arkle v Mill House to Kauto Star v Denman to Native River v Might Bite, the Cheltenham Festival has produced some epic duels down the years. It’ll be no different this week and the three showdowns below certainly won’t be for the faint-hearted, says Darren Norris

A potential mouthwatering clash between Identity Thief and Altior is a possibility in Sunday’s Racing Post Arkle Trophy Trial at Cheltenham.

Dodging Bullets remains on course to make his belated reappearance in next month’s Betfair Price Rush Chase at Newbury.