THE Cheltenham Festival may already claim more than its fair share of the racing narrative, but the Festival was back in the headlines once again in recent weeks with The Jockey Club announcing a raft of changes to the Festival programme for 2025, in a bid to reverse declining attendances and competitiveness across the four days of racing in the Cotswolds.

The opening up of the National Hunt Chase to professional jockeys, removing the previous restriction that confined the race to amateur riders, has proven to be one of the more controversial measures included within those changes.