Little cause for optimism

WE can dress it up anyway we want, but one has to conclude this was a desperately disappointing Cheltenham for Irish horses.

The point can be made, of course, that we travelled with a weakened team, but using such an excuse would only mask the reality of the situation.

The simple fact is we went from ten winners a year ago to five this time round and, apart from the opening day, were essentially running uphill all the time.