Solid start for Irish trainers as Cheltenham kicks off in style

Racegoers react during the Singer Arkle Novices’ Chase on day one of this year's Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse. Picture: Andrew Matthews/PA

The Cheltenham festival kicked off in style on Tuesday and in one of the biggest weeks of the year in the horse racing calendar, one question was whether his horses could give JP McManus a particularly happy 75th birthday.

Even to the untrained eye, one of the biggest questions is whether Ireland can this week do what it did in the rugby a few weeks ago, and put one over on the English.