Category: Cheltenham Festival

Gold Lies At The End Of The Festival Rainbow

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Four days of festivities and elite jumps racing culminates on day 4 at The Festival with the running of the £575,000 Grade 1 Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup. Run over a distance of 3 miles, 2½ furlongs (5331m), the field faces 22 obstacles on the way to joining one of the most prestigious clubs in global racing. The most valuable non-handicap chase in Great Britain, the Gold Cup has been won by the likes of Arkle (1964-66), his great rival Mill House (1963), Best Mate (2002-04), Golden Miller (a five-time winner from 1932-36) and Kauto Star (2007 & 2009) since it was first run over the jumps in 1924 (although the history of a Gold Cup race on this site dates back to 1819).

After the victory of novice Coneygree in 2015 at just his fourth start over the obstacles, the 2016 Cheltenham Gold Cup was won stylishly by the Gordon Elliott-trained 9/4 favourite Don Cossack, ridden by Bryan Cooper. Pushed into the lead as they approached the last, he powered up the hill to win by 4 ½ lengths ahead of the gallant Djakadam. That would be Don Cossack’s final career run as he was retired from racing in January 2017 following a recurrence of a tendon injury after his Gold Cup win.

Bookies can’t split leading trio

There’s an intriguing market for this year’s Gold Cup, with Djakadam, Native River and Cue Card equal favourites at 7-2 across most the major books, while the next seven among the 14-horse field are rated at 20-1 or better to upset the leading trio. History shows that the winner will most probably come from the three runners at the head of the market with 14 of the past 15 winners in the top three of the betting, only Lord Windermere bucking that trend in 2014. All of the past 16 champions of the race had previously won a Grade 1 contest, while 11 of the past 15 winners had all won or finished second on a previous trip to The Festival.

Lizzie Kelly becomes the first woman to ride in the race for 33 years when she partners outsider Tea For Two. Kelly became the only woman to win a Grade 1 race over jumps when she rode the horse to success in the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase in December 2015. But there’s a trend we’re prepared to take on this year with just one of the past 21 winners aged ten or older (Cool Dawn in 1998), with 20 of the past 22 Gold Cup victors were aged seven, eight or nine.

Winning script for Cue Card

The 11-year-old Cue Card (pictured) is a familiar presence at The Festival. He won the Weatherbys Champion Bumper (a first Festival victory for his trainer Colin Tizzard) in 2010 and has run at the meeting four times since. He finished fourth in the 2011 Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, won the Ryanair Chase in 2013 and finished second to Sprinter Sacre in the Racing Post Arkle Novices’ Chase in 2012. In 2016, he fell three fences from home in the Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup when disputing the lead, losing out on the chance of a £1 million bonus.

This season, Cue Card has won both the Grade 1 Betfair Chase at Haydock and the Grade 1 Betfair Ascot Chase. He will once again be ridden by Paddy Brennan. Perhaps it’s fate that Thistlecrack was ruled out of the Gold Cup on February 21 due to a tendon injury as Cue Card’s stablemate would almost certainly have started favourite. Shortest-priced of the five Irish-trained runners is Willie Mullins’ Djakadam at 4/1, runner-up for the past two years. He looms as the main danger to our top pick. Bizarrely, Mullins has never won the Timico Cheltenham Gold Cup but has saddled the runner-up six times.

The Festival Embraces Luck Of The Irish On Day 3

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Saint Patrick may have rid Ireland of all the snakes, but he’d have his hands full eradicating Cheltenham of all the Guinness-swilling Irish celebrating St Patrick’s Day as part of day 3 at The Festival. Amid the festivities and proud displays of green, white and orange (well, mostly green), the keener punters will be closely following the markets ahead of the day’s two big races, £300,000 Grade 1 The Sun Bets Stayers’ Hurdle and the Ryanair Chase.

In 2016, Thistlecrack justified banker status as he bounded away from Irish challenger Alpha Des Obeaux to take The Sun Bets Stayers’ Hurdle in breath-taking fashion and confirmed his domination of the staying hurdle division. Formerly known as the World Hurdle, this race’s short history dates back to just 2000. In that period, there’ve been three multiple winners – Big Buck’s (four in a row from 2009-2012 for Ruby Walsh and Paul Nicholls), Inglis Drever (2005, 2007-08) and Baracouda (2002-03).

Go with Harry, Know What I Mean?

After 21 runners accepted for the Sun Bets Stayers’ Hurdle, a field of 16 is set to line-up for the fourth on the card of day 3. Unowhatimeanharry ($2.25 favourite with Sun Bets) is unbeaten in eight starts for trainer Harry Fry and signed off last season with victory in the G1 Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at The Festival, after which he was bought privately by J.P. McManus. The nine-year-old was impressive in beating Ballyoptic (Nigel Twiston-Davies, 16/1) on his return in a G2 contest at Newbury in November before a four and a half-length victory over Lil Rockerfeller in the G1 Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot the following month. Jessica Harrington plans to run 2014 Stan James Champion Hurdle victor Jezki ($8 with Paddy Power) after two good comeback runs this season. The JP McManus-owned gelding Yanworth ($7 with Coral), who will be ridden for the first time by Mark Walsh, has won each of his three starts this season, the most recent in the Kingwell Hurdle at Wincanton. The favourite looks close enough to a good thing.

Mullins Strong Hand in Ryanair Chase

The day’s other feature – the £300,000 Ryanair Chase (Grade 1 over 2m 5f) – is the third on the card. There’s value galore with five of the eight runners rated at 10-1 or better. Willie Mullins sent out the 1-2 in the 2016 Ryanair Chase as Vautour beat Valseur Lido. This year, the trainer is responsible for saddling the favourite in the championship contest this year. Un De Sceaux ($3.25 thanks to William Hill) has been victorious on two of his three previous appearances at Cheltenham. The nine-year-old stormed to six-length victory in the Racing Post Arkle Novices’ Chase at The Festival in 2015 and returned last year to chase home Sprinter Sacre in the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase. He also triumphed at the course on his latest start, beating the 2015 Ryanair Chase winner Uxizandre (Alan King) by five lengths in the re-scheduled G1 Clarence House Chase on Festival Trials Day (January 28). The British challenge includes Josses Hill (Nicky Henderson), an impressive winner of the G2 Betfred Peterborough Chase at Huntingdon in December and the best of the next at $8 (Betway).

Ladies Take Centre Stage Of Day 2 Of The Festival

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It’s only appropriate that Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon AKA Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother is honoured on the second day of The Festival at Cheltenham. The Grade 1 Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase is the feature race on Ladies Day. In 1980, the National Hunt Two-Mile Champion Chase was renamed in the Queen Mother’s honour as she celebrated her 80th birthday. It is run on the Old Course at Cheltenham over a distance of 3219 metres with runners facing 12 fences. The race was famously taken out, for the second time, but Sprinter Sacre in 2016. The third highest rated steeplechaser of the modern era, the French-bred, British trained 10yo returned from a series of health and injury problems to score a famous victory before he was retired.

Douvan a Deserved Top Pick

Douvan won the Racing Post Arkle Challenge Trophy on the opening day of The Festival in 2016 and will start at a similarly prohibitive price in this year’s Queen Mother Champion Chase. He is unbeaten in 13 starts for Willie Mullins, including a pair of victories at The Festival after his debut win in the 2015 Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. The Susannah Ricci-owned seven-year-old is the 2/7 ($1.28) favourite with race sponsor Betway. The only one rated a serious threat to Douvan is Fox Norton ($8 with Paddy Power). The seven-year-old made an eye-catching debut for Colin Tizzar when landing the Shloer Chase at Prestbury Park in November, but was then sidelined by injury for three months. He proved no match for Altior on his comeback run in the Game Spirit Chase at Newbury, but connections are confident he will raise his game at the Festival.

Neon Wolf Set to Shine

Our best of the day comes up in the opening race of the day – the £125,000 Neptune Investment Management Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1, 2m 5f). Neon Wolf (Harry Fry) will run here after connections decided to skip the Supreme on day 1 with conditions set to improve for day 2. Fry’s youngster has been hugely impressive on his three starts to date, completing his hat-trick with a stunning display in a Supreme Trial at a frigid Haydock in January. Trainer Enda Bolger and owner J P McManus have teamed up to win the £65,000 Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase (3m 6f) on five occasions and the trainer/owner combination has five contenders this year, including course winner Cantlow and Auvergnat, a winner over Punchestown’s banks course on February 5. Although he’s a 12yo, Cantlow has been lightly raced throughout his career and makes a sensible top pick at $3.75 with Coral.

Bumper Attracts Huge Field

Our best roughie for day 2 is in the last race on Ladies’ Day – the £75,000 Weatherbys Champion Bumper (Grade 1 over 2m ½f), which the most prestigious flat race on the National Hunt calendar. Always a great race to watch for future reference, a big field of mostly unexposed horses from Britain and Ireland has revealed a handful of future stars in past editions, including the likes of Florida Pearl and Dunguib. A field of 28 ensures plenty of action and drama as the huge field battles for position. This race has been won a staggering eight times by Willie Mullins, and his best hope this year looks to be the ante-post favourite Carter McKay. But we like the look of another Mullins runner, Ballyward ($15). He was impressive when winning a 2m 4f bumper at Leopardstown over the festive period.

Get Ready for the Roar as 2017 Cheltenham Festival Kicks-off

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The Festival at Cheltenham is the pinnacle of jumps racing. The Grand National may be worth more prize money race, but the four days of drama set against the vista of the Cotswold Hills is a far richer experience. The best horses, jockeys and trainers join a crowd that regularly tops 250,000 across the four days for one of the great experiences in racing, anywhere in the world. The origins of this festival date back to 1860 and has been run at Cheltenham in Gloucestershire since 1911. Until 2005, the festival had been run over the three days, but this changed with the introduction of a fourth day, meaning there would be one championship race on each day.

Hurdlers Take Centre Stage

The famous roar as the tapes rise for the first race on Tuesday is one of the most iconic moments of The Festival. Champion Day features the most important hurdle race of the season, £400,000 Grade 1 Stan James Champion Hurdle, won in 2016 by the wonder mare Annie Power in a course record time. Favourite Yanworth heads 12 confirmations for this year’s two-mile test. Yanworth (Alan King), one of three contenders for owner J.P. McManus, is the $3.50 market leader with Stan James after an unbeaten campaign. The seven-year-old defeated The New One in the G1 Christmas Hurdle at Kempton Park on Boxing Day before tipping out Ch’Tibello in workman-like fashion in the G2 Kingwell Hurdle at Wincanton on February 18.

Brain Over Brawn

Buveur D’Air, also owned by J P McManus, heads a three-strong team for trainer Nicky Henderson. He is the $5 second favourite after cruising to victory in the Listed Contenders Hurdle at Sandown Park on February 4. Henderson also plans to run Michael Buckle’s Brain Power ($8), an impressive five-length winner of the G3 Wessex Youth Trust Handicap Hurdle at Ascot before Christmas. In his two impressive wins this season, he travelled exceptionally well in both and seems to have overcome the jumping problems that bedevilled his novice season. Henderson has been at pains to remind reporters not to forget Brain Power when quizzed about Buveur D’Air – he’ll do us at a price that still has at least two points of value.

Ruby’s Lead Telling

Perhaps the most intriguing event of the day is the £110,000 OLBG Mares’ Hurdle (Grade 1, 2m 4f). Willie Mullins has sent out eight of the nine winners of this race and the trainer has seven of the 28 contenders in this year’s renewal including Vroum Vroum Mag, who took the spoils 12 months ago. Limini, successful in the 2016 G2 Trull House Stud Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle, and Let’s Dance also feature among the Mullins-trained contenders, while Apple’s Jade, runner-up for Mullins in the G1 JCB Triumph Hurdle at The Festival last year, could line up for Gordon Elliott. The fact that jockey Ruby Walsh has elected to ride Limini deserves respect despite the support for Vroum Vroum Mag.