The Flat campaign on turf is off and running and the first Classics of 2024 are less than six weeks away but Ireland’s dominance at the Cheltenham Festival remains a fierce issue of debate, thanks in no small part to the Grand National-winning trainer, Dr Richard Newland, who seemed to suggest in a blog posted on the Racing TV website last week that Irish-trained runners in Britain should be strictly limited, and perhaps even banned altogether.
“Personally,” Newland wrote, “I would have that blanket [ban] for all races. But if we are to allow them to race in the UK once a year, maybe let that be at the Cheltenham Festival with perhaps one runner allowed per trainer in each race – not coming over every Saturday and winning everything.”
