While Irish trained horses have not always been so dominant and exceptional at Cheltenham, in recent times, the rivalry between the nations has been rather one-sided.
Back in the 1980s, there were times when Irish trained horses would arrive at the festival and fail to pick up a single win, but times have certainly changed.
Last year, Irish horses won 18 of the 28 races and this year's festival has picked up where last year started. During day one of the biggest week in the sport, Irish trained horses won six of the seven races, and with some of the names still due to race already, that number is only set to rise.
Ireland's record haul of 23 winners from 2021 could be broken this week, although it is still to early to speculate how the rest of the week could unfold.
Opt in to Ladbrokes' Matched Bet Offer to claim a Free Bet up €5: bit.ly/49PVXy2
Irish dominance surrounds pre-race coverage
For Irish fans, owners and trainers, the recent trend is something to be proud of and a lot of work behind the scenes in the sport across the country has undoubtedly led to this stage, but for the sport as a whole, is the dominance a good thing?
That was the topic of conversation prior to today's first race.
Yesterday, the first five horses home in the Supreme Novices' Hurdle were Irish.
READ HERE: Paul Townend Takes Hat Trick Of Wins On Cheltenham Redemption Day
The one sided affair continued later in the afternoon, with the first three in the Arkle Chase, first four in the Champions Hurdle, first five in the Boodles hurdle and the first two in the National Hunt chase all from Ireland.
ITV pundit and horse racing expert Kevin Blake spoke about the shift in fortune for the Irish at Cheltenham.
As an Irishman it makes you very proud of what we're doing back home. It isn't taken for granted. I'm too young to remember the late 80s when the Irish would come here and sometimes not have a winner at all. It hasn't happened overnight. What we saw yesterday and what we're probably going to see for the rest of the week is not something that happened overnight and Irish trained horses have had more winners than the British trained horses at this meeting since 2016 and it's gone terribly one sided. I don't think that's healthy for anyone, it's not healthy for Ireland. We rely heavily on the business on this side of the water too.
Some people in British National Hunt Racing don't like to talk about this , they close their eyes, put their fingers in their ears and hope things will get better, but that hasn't been working. These things have to be talked about and discussed.
If I'm involved in British Hunt Racing, a week like this, talk about red alarm bells ringing and they should have been ringing years ago..... We're not perfect in Ireland, but there's real problems here.
Megan Nicholls, a former jockey and daughter of trainer Paul Nicholls echoed Blake's opinion on the scene in Britain.
Speaking ahead of the first race at day two of the Cheltenham Festival, she said:
The panic button is definitely flashing. How can you say 'who cares?', we all care. We want to get the level competitiveness back. We don't want a huge domination, not just from Ireland but from one yard. Don't get me wrong you have to praise Willie (Mullins) for what he has done, but it's great for the sport to have competitiveness with so many connections winning.
There has got to be changes made. I think not only from buying the right types of horses, but getting the right types of owners over here or starting them in the sport and keeping them here, but also the programme that's a massive part of it. Over the next three days, I'm sure we're going to be able to catch up, but I'm hoping we can close the gap a bit.
With plenty of racing still to go at this year's Cheltenham Festival it's far too soon to think about another Irish landslide in the Prestbury Cup, but if the start of this year's campaign is anyting to go by, Irish trainers and owners will certainly be happy come the end of the week.
SEE ALSO: Cheltenham Results: All The Winners And Reaction From Day 2 Of The Festival
