There is no hiding place at Cheltenham. None. Whether you are a jockey, a trainer, an owner or a punter, Horse Racing has a way of bringing you down to earth with an almighty shudder, while elevating your spirits when you least expect it.
The contrast in fortunes of the two men fighting it out in the Irish trainers championship, Gordon Elliott and Willie Mullins, could not be more stark right now.
Meathman Elliott has trained 5 of Ireland's 8 winners at halfway, with Cause of Causes and Fayonagh landing the Cross Country Chase and Bumper respectively today under Wexford amateur Jamie Codd.
For Mullins, who trained 7 winners at the Festival last year, and 8 the year before, it's been a wretched couple of days. The Carlow based handler and his stable jockey Ruby Walsh have come up empty handed to continue a season of desperate fortune, following the death of Vautour and injuries to Annie Power, Faugheen and Min.
Their luck is out, and what better to symbolise that than Douvan, the banker of bankers, injuring his leg and going lame in the Champion Chase, which was won by another Irish trained runner, Special Tiara, for Waterford's Henry De Bromhead.
Cork's Noel Fehily rode a shrewd tactical race to guide Special Tiara to a narrow win over Fox Norton and give him victory in the showpiece, 24 hours after his Champion Hurdle triumph on Buveur D'Air. Racing luck flows like a good 15 minutes at a Blackjack table. One has to savour everything going your way when it happens.
The other Irish winner today was Supasundae for Jessica Harrington, who saddles the dangerous Jezki in tomorrow's Stayers' Hurdle and Sizing John in the Gold Cup on Friday. Who knows, she might have more visits to the winner's enclosure.
Is Willie Mullins going to bounce back tomorrow? He has Yorkhill in the opener and Un De Sceaux in the Ryanair Chase, both with massive claims. However in the Ryanair, a horse by the name of Empire of Dirt is set to be all the rage. Why wouldn't he be? He's trained by Gordon Elliott.
I will be on the Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show to give Thursday charity bets with thanks to Betfair at 8.30am.
After being lucky enough to tip Supasundae at 18/1, the charity bank stands at €2828 from €1000 spent with 2 days to go.
