The Spread

✽ It’s been a while since the Irish tasted success in the Hennessy Gold Cup, but this could be the year with Willie Mullins’ Djakadam the favourite.

The mighty Arkle made his name following his three consecutive Cheltenham Gold Cup victories in the mid-1960s, but a large dollop of his fame also derived from his imperious ability to concede lumps of weight to opponents in handicap chases and still slaughter them. In the ...