Cheltenham stalwart Sire Du Berlais completed a somewhat remarkable Festival treble with Thursday’s gritty success in the Stayers’ Hurdle. In a thrilling finish he narrowly saw off Teahupoo and Dashel Drasher, the latter proving he is at least as good over hurdles as he is over fences. Hopefully, Aintree will host the rematch.

A dual Pertemps Network Final winner, Sire Du Berlais had been runner-up to Flooring Porter in the 2021 Stayers’ Hurdle and a provisional rating of 160 matches the level he achieved in defeat two years ago. Flooring Porter hadn’t quite been in the same form this season and, while he ran his best race since April in search of his own treble, this was confirmation of a slight drop off.

Ultimately, this wasn’t a vintage renewal and 160 would be the joint-lowest rating achieved by a Stayers’ Hurdle winner in recent years, alongside 2020 winner Lisnagar Oscar.