Increasing prize money is a sensible idea but there is little immediate hope of ending Irish trainers’ dominance
After a humiliating 23-5 drubbing by the Irish at last year’s Cheltenham Festival, the good news for British jumps racing following the weekend’s action is that the first race of the 2022 Festival, the Supreme Novice Hurdle on 15 March, is looking like a banker for the home team.
Constitution Hill was deeply impressive as he quickened clear on the bridle to win the Tolworth Hurdle at Sandown on Saturday and is now a worthy 9-4 favourite; his biggest rival may well be Jonbon (3-1), a stable companion at the Nicky Henderson yard. The bad news, however, is that the rest of the meeting threatens to be a case of what the late Yogi Berra described as “deja vu all over again”.
