Cheltenham festival - They are under starters orders

ENGLAND invaded Ireland once and stayed for 700 years; the Irish invade England every year and come home after less than seven days.

Though the English set a fairly high bar in the plunder stakes Irish punters gallantly do their very best to redress the balance at the Cheltenham festival every March. Some years, like 2005 and 2006 when we had nine and 10 winners respectively, we come pretty close, but in reality beating the bookies comes just a very close second to beating the English horses.

The festival has been described as the best outdoor party — the indoor bits are not bad either — in these islands and represents an annual pilgrimage for thousands of Irish people.

Today’s first race — the Anglo Irish Bank Supreme Novices’ Hurdle over two miles and half a furlong at 2pm — will be sent off with a cheer that is unlikely to be matched at any sporting event for the rest of the month. It is entirely appropriate that the very first three words on the festival race card cut to the core of the action — Anglo, Irish and the moola.

And what changed fortunes a bit of moola has meant for the Irish. No longer condemned to try to beat our own best horses — which were once routinely sold across the Irish Sea — with their less-talented contemporaries we can hold onto the pick of the crop and parade them at Prestbury Park in our own colours.

The white flag has been raised and, make no mistake, the stakes are high, almost as high as they can be: bragging rights over our nearest neighbours and friends.