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I remember seeing one of these last year and thought I’d get the ball rolling albeit we’re one day to play and potentially could have one of the highlights of the week to come in Galopin.
Highs:
– Incredible sporting drama in the Champion Hurdle and nice to see a ‘smaller’ set of connections pick up one of the biggest prizes.– Competitive races pretty much all week which has shown in the SP’s of most of the winners. For me there have been too many favs winning and winning easily the past few years, it was getting a bit boring.
– The spirit of Mikey/the two races back to back on Thursday. You couldn’t have scripted it.
– Really good Turners Novice Hurdle, the front 3 all look like really good horses. Nice to see Skelton having potentially one of the best horses in training going into next season.
– Nice racing ground rather than the bog we’ve endured the past few years. Mostly down to mother nature playing ball but credit where its due, the clerk hasn’t overwatered and has got the balance right.
– Some really good individual performances, too many to list but the ones who impressed me most each day were Myretown, The New Lion, Fact To File.
– Robcour – fair play for letting Bob Olinger take on the defending champion from the same ownership in the stayers. They were rewarded with a 1-2 still and Bob deserved his day in the sun.
Lows:
I don’t want to dwell because its been a good weeks racing so far but a couple of gripes:– the starts/false-starts. Probably doesn’t need much else adding.
– Although they were entertaining the Arkle and BANC weren’t very good races this year I don’t think in terms of quality and although he was well plotted up for the handicap, Caldwell Potter could probably have won either of the Grade 1s if he wanted to.
– Lossie and Fact To File not going for the bigger targets. I do think they should be lumped together, lots of focus on Lossie but I think they slightly ducked Galopin with Fact To File too. Most will disagree as they don’t see Fact To File as a stayer but I’d like to at least see him have a chance to prove that either way.
– Quite a few of the big names frankly not turning up – don’t need to list them all here and you need this to some extent to get competitive races but for me there’s a big difference between Teahupoo getting turned over on merit/running a good race still and the way some of the others have performed this week.
Agree with most of those, but I don’t mind that Fact to File went Ryanair, I think he would have been 3rd , outstayed in the Gold Cup- I’d rather a horse like that was allowed to bounce out, roll on and wing fences, it’s a joy to watch but you couldn’t do that in a Gold Cup and win. Agree wish Lossie had gone CH though.
Myretown was nice to watch I’m a sucker for a front runner. Some of the jockey interviews- I liked Bryan Carver’s beaten jockey interview after the mare’s chase, he was delighted with Mayhem Mya’s round of jumping and it was nice to see the genuine pleasure of a rider who was beaten but knew his horse had tried her best.
Rachel Blackmore riding winners again and the stable getting back to form.
Haiti Coleurs winning- I like Rebecca Curtis, nice to see her land that race with a good well fancied horse.
Lows- Springwell Bay and Corbetts Cross obviously.
Constitution Hill and State Man…glad they’re OK but I wanted to see the clash. At least Golden Ace got her big win so silver linings etc.
A personal pocket talking one- Quilixios
Not taking the week off work to watch the whole thing was stupid, not doing that again!
Highs
Golden Ace winning the Champion Hurdle. Aside from being pleased for Jeremy Scott, it was amusing how she was only in the race via a combination of Mullins trying to be clever and Ricci bottling it for the second year in a row. You need a heart of stone not to laugh.
Fact To File was brilliant in the Ryanair. I expect he will be there again next year now McManus has the Gold Cup winner.
Caldwell Potter put in a magnificent round of jumping and at 10/1 was about the only bright spot in a dismal week of punting.
Lows
The losses of Springwell Bay and Corbetts Cross.
The false starts but at least Friday was better.
Lossiemouth being in the wrong race again.
The Irish domination showing up British National Hunt racing as the poor relation.
The dismal week of punting. Apart from Sedgefield on Tuesday, which was marvellous.
Highs
Marine Nationale , class act and while making me a nice profit it was more enjoying the way he did it , peaked to perfection and he loved that ground , could easily win next year
The New Lion , this is the horse that will take Skelton to the next level , you could argue he,d have wanted more winners this week butthis horse will take him to the top table
Inothewayurthinkin
Great performance today and hopefully just the start , rewatching the race Walsh really did give him a cracking ride , if he does go to Aintree he may well go off at a ridiculous price
Lows
Not having my Dad to watch it with , I normally take the week off but since losing Dad in Jan I knew this would be a difficult week so worked , still saw most of the racing but miss not being able to discuss with dad , I’ve been commenting on here a lot this week and thankfully it’s helped
The loss of Corbetts Cross … One hand it’s given …in another it’s taken away , real shame as I had him a GN horse
Pick 3 on Saturday champion 2025/2026
This is very much from a personal viewpoint and only on the betting front.
Highs:
My anteposts of
Kopek Des Bordes 16s
Caldwell Potter 16s
Getting the winner in the Supreme – cant remember the last time i had the winner in the first race at Cheltenham.
My each way pick ups at big prices, namely Gentlemansgame at 75/1 and Mars Harper. They were some other small stakes win.
And i had a win every day.
I finished in profit. I’m only a small stakes guy, but i’ve got a nice couple of hundred £s profit.Lows:
3 ‘misses’
1) Wodhooh, in the last. Had a nice pick up on him when he last won at Cheltenham, in December. Cant believe myself for not backing him, either antepost or this week
2) Without doubt ‘missing’ Golden Ace, after resisting an each way punt at 40s, a number of times, in the week or so leading up to Chelt week, incl on the Monday eve, because pre-race it had moved to just 2 places.
3) Bob Olinger, 20s on Wed eve. Tipped up by a couple of pundits on Wed eve, whom i’ve followed on Youtube each eve before the next day’s racing. But i stupidly ‘ignored’ the advice.Still enjoyed the week though
It was losing my dad that brought me back to racing in my thirties because it triggered my memories of going to the illegal bookies to put his bets on and it gave me a connection to my childhood. I’ve still never got over being able to chat about racing on a daily basis with people, though. Although, when I was still working I could talk about it at work as it hadn’t quite become a taboo subject back then. I must say that I’ve enjoyed this weeks racing far more than I expected to, as I hate it when one trainer dominates the whole festival and was so pleased to see Rebecca Curtis, Jeremy Scott and Lucinda Russell train winners.I always used to take the week off work and had been saying that, if I wasn’t retired I probably wouldn’t use up my annual leave these days, but I’m now thinking that I should try to go to the Festival again. Or at least go the Cheltenham again. Watching it on the tv I can still ‘be there’ and I know that, if I go again it will feel as if I only left the place five minutes ago. So many memories.
It’s strange I’m a huge NH fan but I went racing 3 times last year … all flat lol , I can still talk to my brother about it but it been strange without dad , still enjoyed it though as thankfully I’ve had some winners and the weather’s been good , it’ll take time to adjust but getting there
Pick 3 on Saturday champion 2025/2026
I imagine Derek O’Connor was feeling a bit low. Only just beaten in the Foxhunters on a horse that is not straightforward. But how did he manage to get Johnnywho beaten in the Kim Muir?
That last jump out him on the back foot , I reckon Kennedy had a worse one
Pick 3 on Saturday champion 2025/2026
Sorry to raise the vexed subject again but another low is the length of the festival. Maybe it doesn’t feel that bad if you are winning but by the end I felt worn out. And I have felt that way at festivals where I have won.
I appreciate they are not going to go back to three days. The fourth day makes far too much money. But the festival is too long, with too many races of little interest or which take runners away from the feature races.
I enjoy both the DRF and Aintree more than Cheltenham nowadays.
They need to tweek , mares hurdle needs a maximum mark so the top class mares to the Champion , I actually think the Ryanair looked a competitive race this year bar a top class horse but I know it’s not popular , personally I’d like a veterans hurdle and chase
Pick 3 on Saturday champion 2025/2026
Never liked the fourth day to me all the excitement ends on Thursday. The Gold Cup supported by novice/juvenile hurdles, mares chase and the foxhunters doesn’t really excite me.
The more I know the less I understand.
Agree RTB. It should be the best day of the festival but it is actually the worst, with a very underwhelming ending.
Lows
Galopin going our on his word. So wanted him to win but not to be.
So many top horses miles off it brighterdays ahead being biggest disappointment.
Lossiemouth not running in the champion hurdle. As it turned out would probably have strolled home.
Crowds still looked huge but drop off getting really concerning.Highs
Marine nationale and jazzy matty. Just incredible.
Fact to file brilliant in the Ryanair.
Gavin Cromwell incredible training to get horses to peak for Cheltenham.
Golden ace winning showing if your not in it you can’t win it.Thoroughly enjoyable 4 days.
To my mind, the Friday card is 3 races: the Triumph, the County and the Gold Cup.
I don’t believe a Mares Chase adds anything of value to the festival. It was a victory stroll for Dinoblue yesterday. I also think moving it to before the Gold Cup only serves to delay the feature event. Maybe it was moved because Cheltenham realised having three minor races after the Gold Cup was a very long end to the festival?
The Albert Bartlett has produced 2 Gold Cup winners (Bob’s Worth and Minella Indo) and a Stayers Hurdle winner (Penhill). Otherwise, it is not a particularly distinguished roll of honour (OK, Monkfish was subsequently unlucky with injuries). What does it add? The three milers can run in the Sefton at Aintree instead.
I accept some people like Hunter Chases and they are part of the fabric of National Hunt racing. But I don’t find a race with amateur jockeys an appealing spectacle.
The Martin Pipe is a second Coral Cup but with a lot of Irish conditional jockey who the vast majority of the crowd will never have heard of before. The race has identified some future stars (Galopin Des Champs, Banbridge, Don Poli). But how many people care by then?
I wonder what percentage of the crowd leave after the Gold Cup?
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