National Hunt racing in Ireland at an all time high

WHAT a fantastic time to be associated with National Hunt racing in Ireland.

Those of us who have been around for a while can well remember the bad days, the days when we travelled to Cheltenham with horses who, largely, couldn't run to warm themselves.

Many of them were just leftovers, ones who hadn't been bought by English owners. You went to Cheltenham and watched a succession of ex-Irish horses screaming up the final hill and being acclaimed as the new flying machines. Irish in origin, but on the side of the traditional enemy.