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I’d get rid of Ryanair, mares’ races, cross-country, Albert Bartlett, Brown Advisory, and back to 3 days of white-hot racing.
Used to go evry year in the 80s, but gradually losing that sense of anticipation.The festival is not going to go back to three days. It would be better if it did but it won’t. There is plenty of money in a fourth day.
I support Kevin Blake’s idea of shaking up the Grade 1s and turning a few of them into handicaps. If the festival has to be four days, it should be more competitive.
Cross country one of the worst races to grace Cheltenham I don’t think I have ever bet in any of them in or out of the festival. Same with the Fox Hunters what a come down after the Gold Cup.
The things I want most in life are the things that I can't win.
I am sure the Hunter Chase used to be run before the Gold Cup, certainly in the 3 day festival era.
You’re right CAS. When I first started following racing in the early 90s, the hunter chase preceded the Gold Cup, and what is now the Ultima followed it.
I like the placement of the hunter chase and think it is the ideal race to follow the Gold Cup. Also it is not taking away participants from other races to any significant degree.
I stopped going many years ago when it became less about the racing, and more a place to be seen. Sadly, it became an uncomfortable, and an expensive exercise.
As regards the races, I don’t think there is much wrong. Unfortunately, Kevin Blake strikes me as first and foremost an attention seeker. I hope nobody of any influence takes too much notice of his ramblings. How many jobs has that guy got? The Cross Country should never have become part of the Festival. It didn’t need a novelty race. Back in the day they used to have a couple of hunter chases, but the Foxhunters is now a pale shadow of what it used to be. It should long since have been carted off to the April meeting. That should be it’s home. If a third race had to go it would be the Mares’ Chase. There are simply not enough good one’s to merit such a race.
The problem with the races rests far more with the participants, and one in particular. We get the same thing (although it does seem worse this year) every year where he can’t seem to make up his mind, or he won’t openly reveal that he has made up his mind. If you were to just cut back the races he would just have twice as many runners in them. It would look a total nonsense, a bit like a copy of the DRF.
There are already more than enough very difficult handicaps at the Festival. This is supposed to be the equine Olympics, you don’t handicap top athletes just because they might be better than the opposition.
If in some parallel universe we could go back to 3 days, the races I would lose are:
Kim Muir
Martin Pipe
Mares Hurdle
Mares Novices Hurdle
Cross Country
Bumper
Fred WinterAlternatively, there is a case for getting rid of the Ryanair, Turners and Batlett instead. In that case, maybe retain the Mares races and perhaps the Fred Winter. The Triumph is arguably a better race now the no hopers are out of the way.
There is a case for losing the National Hunt Chase as well. I realise it is one of the most historic races on the calendar but the reduction in distance means it is now little better than a second Brown Advisory but with amateur riders. Does the meeting require four novice chases?
We are all entitled to our opinions Stilvi but I must take issue with your comments regarding Kevin Blake. To me he is one of the very few people who identifys problems within racing and actually comes up with valid solutions.
Completely agree I don’t view Kevin Blake in that way at all he is one of the few people I listen to.
The things I want most in life are the things that I can't win.
As many here know, I’m a big fan of Point-to-Point and Hunters’ Chases and I think the Cheltenham contest is still superb and well worth its place at the Festival.
Good betting medium too if you put the work in – last year’s winner Premier Magic was freely available at 200 on the machine on the day despite having absolutely clobbered Law Of Gold at Garthorpe on his previous outing.
He wasn’t my main bet in the race, but I had a bit on him as a value bet and at 200 it doesn’t take a lot to win a lot.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"Rather than change Grade 1s into handicaps, I would ban novices from competing in Festival handicaps other than the Fred Winter.
This would make the championship novice events better contested, and I think the handicaps could withstand the change.
“The Triumph is arguably a better race now the no hopers are out of the way”.
I would have to disagree with that, find the race fairly mundane these days, usually with a smallish field and a short priced fav. Much better spectacle with the big field and the no hopers, plenty of whom ran big races and even won it.
“now the no hopers are out of the way.”
“No hopers” like Baron Blakeney?
Or Shiny Copper?
I backed the “no hoper” Saxon Farm ante-post at 25/1 one year and IIRC he was still 16/1 on the day.
Triumph used to be a maximum field cracker.
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"I think the Festival would lose a lot of its interesting variety if many of the removals being suggested in this thread occurred.
The only races I would support getting rid of are the mares’ races, which I do think detract from the top events, especially over hurdles.
However, I still enjoy the Festival very much and am not overly bothered by the increase to four days. It is clearly thriving and there is no possibility of it going back to three days.
I’m in agreement with Marlingford I like variety of races currently have
And also ould be in the support of removing the mare races
VF x
I’d start the festival on the Wednesday and move the Cross Country and amateur races to the Saturday for people who like that sort of thing, aren’t that fussed about quality and/or want to go to the races on a Saturday. Throw in a couple of the other “lesser” races (open for debate, at least one of the mares’ races) have 3 days of genuine championship races Wednesday to Friday.
Agree with previous comments about Blake. He’s one of the better pundits.
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