If any British racing fans had convinced themselves last year’s Cheltenham Festival was an aberration, that this year’s meeting might see British horses summoning up at least a little more resistance to their opponents from Ireland, then Saturday’s Imperial Cup result at Sandown was a shock to the system of ice-bucket challenge proportions.
On paper, it was one of the most tightly handicapped fields of the season: 21 runners from Britain against a sole challenger from Ireland – which proceeded to win with such ridiculous ease that another stone on its back would have made little difference. That it was called Suprise Package only added to the sense that Irish racing has started trolling its British counterpart.
