The British view: Britain's Gold Cup wait unlikely to end anytime soon 

Ireland’s staying chase division is, quite simply, operating at an entirely different level to its British counterpart

COMPELLING DUEL: Royale Pagaille chases down Grey Dawning  to win the Betfair Chase at Haydock last weekend. However, both are likely to struggle when the Irish battalion make the journey to Cheltenham in March. Picture: Ian Hodgson/PA

After a memorable weekend of Grade One steeplechasing in both Britain and Ireland, the Cheltenham Gold Cup has a new favourite in Fact To File, and the possibility that there will be a British-trained winner of jumping’s showpiece event in 2025 — or in the 2020s, full stop — seems increasingly remote.

If courage alone were enough to win a Gold Cup, then both Royale Pagaille and Grey Dawning, the one-two in Saturday’s Betfair Chase at Haydock, would go to the Festival in March as obvious candidates. Their see-sawing, slow-motion battle over the final two fences at Haydock was a compelling spectacle for the packed stands, and a much-needed boost for fans and professionals alike after the miserable scenes at Cheltenham six days earlier.