By Cornelius Lysaght BBC racing correspondent

TUESDAY REVIEW

There was so much anticipation about the Irish horses in the first two races and it didn't come off, so Cheltenham was like a simmering saucepan.

But you can only keep the lid on the saucepan for so long before it over-heats.

Hardy Eustace gave the Irish racegoers something to celebrate

It was good for the Festival, and the whole theatre of Cheltenham, that Ireland claimed the Champion Hurdle again with Hardy Eustace.

The place was eerily quite after the opening races. There was a lot of Irish money down, and it had been lost.

Arcalis was an impressive winner of the Supreme Novices' Hurdle and Contraband did really well in the Arkle.

But it showed the importance of Ireland to the whole thing. At times, you could hear a pin drop.

Then the Cheltenham saucepan bubbled over with Hardy Eustace completing a Champion Hurdle double.

He proved to be an excellent horse, with a third Festival win also lending merit to the old 'horses for courses' adage.

You want a horse that knows the ups and downs, and left-hand turns of Cheltenham, and he's not intimidated by the steep hill at the end of it.

I spoke to his owner Laurence Byrne, and he said he knew Hardy Eustace would get there. He has the heart of a lion.

It was a sensational race, and a reminder of the 1970s golden era of hurdling when the likes of Sea Pigeon and Monksfield did battle

Harchibald couldn't do it for one reason or another, and Hardy Eustace just doesn't stop.

It was a sensational race, and a reminder of the 1970s golden era of hurdling when the likes of Sea Pigeon and Monksfield did battle.

Beforehand, the Irish challenge was billed as the Magnificent Seven. And it turned out to be the Famous Five as they filled the first five positions.

Hardy Eustace is the pride of Ireland and raised the roof at the Festival - it was great to see such a brilliant ride from Conor O'Dwyer at the age of 38.

Two years ago, when Hardy Eustace won the SunAlliance Hurdle, Kieran Kelly was on board.

Kieran died months later after a fall, and the late jockey was in many people's thoughts again - it is an ongoing memorial to him.