British trainers Dan Skelton and Nicky Henderson will take on the might of the Irish at jump racing’s showcase event with the likes of The New Lion ​and Lulamba vying for a share of the five-million-pound prize pot as the Cheltenham Festival opens today.

Attracting some 200,000 racegoers across four ‌days, the festival is worth an estimated 274 million pounds to the local economy boosting local restaurants, hotels and pubs.

It is also horse racing’s biggest betting week of the year with bookmaker William Hill predicting 450 million pounds will be wagered across Britain.

But for those at the heart of the sport, it is all about the horses ​and whether this year’s crop of jumps stars can rival the Irish.

It is almost two decades since the golden years of British jump racing when Somerset-based Paul ​Nicholls and his crop of horses like dual Gold Cup-winner Kauto Star and 18-times consecutive hurdle winner Big Buck’s outclassed the rest, before ⁠the pendulum swung in favour of the Irish.