Crowds were down but the action on and off the track was a better experience for both committed and once-a-year fans

Once the gasps had subsided following a Champion Hurdle that upended every script and expectation, a most unlikely serenade began. “Oh, Jeremy Scott!” the Cheltenham crowd sang, the voices getting louder and meatier with every refrain. “Oh, Jeremy Scott!”

Scott, the trainer of the shock 25-1 winner Golden Ace, smiled at the absurdity of it all, before finding the perfect response from Only Fools And Horses. “As Del Boy says, ‘Who dares wins’, Rodney’”.