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Where’s the five day idea come from again?
The Ryanair chase having a whole day to itself as a championship race is a scary thought.
Any number of extra novelty races are available, though. Anyone fancy a fixed brush hurdle championship at Cheltenham? And it is just not right that we don’t have an official veterans chase. Add in a ‘Ryanair’ hurdle, a number of bumpers with all different types of restrictions to match what Punchestown offers, and the Cheltenham festival could be on its way to rivalling Galway!
How are you going to find enough races for FIVE days? Are they going to split every race into teeny tiny categories? I’ll be looking forward to the Lady Rider Filly & Mare Novice Foxhunters Staying Bumper Race.
Where’s the five day idea come from again?
quote]I think its included along with other ideas of running all the top flat races run on Saturday next year: the Ebor, July Cup etc.
I agree that they should go back to three days, Wednesday to Friday, as the current Thursday card of the Ryanair and World Hurdle is too weak.
This idea was first mooted, back when Cheltenham was thinking about expanding to 4 days from 3. It was just a passing remark in an interview at the time, but certainly not ruled out. It was more a case of let’s see how we do with 4 and then maybe we’ll think about expanding to 5.
Frankly, I think there is too much emphasis on Cheltenham. It seems that every other big race in the calendar is only seen as a stepping stone to Cheltenham, not as a great achievement in its own right. Cheltenham doesn’t suit all horses as some don’t run as well going lefthanded (Desert Orchid comes to mind here) and because they can’t/don’t win there, they are not considered as great as a Cheltenham Festival winner. Let’s keep Cheltenham at 3 or 4 days and have more English courses holding racing festivals, like they do in Ireland.
Here’s a novel idea though. Why not convert one of Cheltenham’s course to be run righthanded? With a righthand and a lefthand course, it would provide more variety and give those horses less likely to succeed on a lefthand track a chance to prove they’re just as good.
How are you going to find enough races for FIVE days? Are they going to split every race into teeny tiny categories? I’ll be looking forward to the Lady Rider Filly & Mare Novice Foxhunters Staying Bumper Race.
Juvenile. You forgot Juvenile, goddamnit!
BlueSky @pghenn.bsky.social
So don't run, just like the others always do
This year feels that the Festival has stretched to it’s limit and to stretch to five days would ruin it.
However, if Cheltenham (and maybe RFC) are so hell-bent on streching into Saturday, then make it a non-festival day (like the old Ascot Heath meeting) with a fixed entry price of say £20 per person (Tatts/Club combined) / £10 Best Mate and half-price for locals (with proof of address).
I recall some RP columnist once advocating a "consolation Saturday" for horses balloted out of festival races, so the card could comprise something along these lines:-
1. Pertemps consolation
2. County Hurdle consolation
3. Coral Cup consolation
4. Midlands National (transferred from Uttoxeter) 4m 1f
5. Martin Pipe Consolation
6. Kim Muir consolation
7. Cross Country Hunter ChaseTherefore Festival would still run Tue-Fri, with Locals day on Saturday.
- Total Posts 17716
Fri 18/6
13.30
GRANDOUET – Brampour
15.30
ALAIVAN – Snap Tie
In the 13.30 AP rides "A MEDIA LOUZ".
I like this song (Libertad La Marque – Sarita Mondiel).
Does she have any chance ?Katie,
That loud crash you just heard was Edward Gillespie falling down the stairs outside the Royal Box at the thought of letting people into Cheltenham for £20!
I think the addition of a fifth day would allow them to put on some proper specialist races to provide opportunities for the sort of horse that doesn’t currently get a look in.
I favour a new race to be called the Ever Decreasing Circles Veteran Chase, for 10-y-olds and up, rated 0-130, run over 7 miles on the Cross Country course, restricted to lady riders related by birth or marriage to previous Festival winning jockeys or trainers.
This could be the last race on a ten race card on Saturday, with an off time of 6:30 pm meaning that mercifully it would be too dark for anyone to see the finish.
But it probably doesn’t pay to give them ideas ….. after all ten years ago I suggested a mares only race.
AP
Anyone fancy a fixed brush hurdle championship at Cheltenham? And it is just not right that we don’t have an official veterans chase.
Yep, I’d be happy to see either of those, albeit perhaps as final races on a day’s card as opposed to earlier.
There’s also plenty of evidence in the annals here and elsewhere of me arguing a case for a race framed solely for permit-holders, as an acknowledgement of their longstanding historical significance to and continued support of the sport of National Hunt racing.
Lastly, the omission of any cross-country race for hunter chasers and Point-to-Pointers is quite some oversight, given they are the animals most likely to have encountered the same variety of obstacles as feature (in a slightly sanitised form) on the cross-country course whilst out hunting. Holding a hunters’ cross-country race isn’t an option at any of the Cheltenham meetings between November and January as that would annul the participants’ eligibility for hunter chases and Points for the rest of the season.
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
How many people arguing against five days based on quality actually support the inclusion of the Cross Country because if you accept that race any addition short of a selling hurdle would be an improvement.
How many people arguing against five days based on quality actually support the inclusion of the Cross Country because if you accept that race any addition short of a selling hurdle would be an improvement.
I support the inclusion of the Cross Country because it’s something a little different.
I’m getting tired of people suggesting we get rid of things because they don’t happen to be their cup of tea.
Although primarily a celebration of the race that was the original Cheltenham Festival highlight, nobody who has read Peter Stevens’ splendid
History of the National Hunt Chase 1860-2010
(more info at http://www.nhchase.co.uk/) can be in much doubt as to the right both the NH Chase and the cross-country event have to number among the Festival’s itinerary.
No two races over the four days (or anywhere else in the entire calendar, outside Aintree, perhaps) are a greater evocation of all that British steeplechasing was founded on. Hold them close, cherish them always.
gc
Jeremy Grayson. Son of immigrant. Adoptive father of two. Metadata librarian. Freelance point-to-point / horse racing writer, analyst and commentator wonk. Loves music, buses, cats, the BBC Micro, ale. Advocate of CBT, PACE and therapeutic parenting. Aspergers.
How many people arguing against five days based on quality actually support the inclusion of the Cross Country because if you accept that race any addition short of a selling hurdle would be an improvement.
I agree. The CC, for me, is an excuse to make a brew and pop back later to see which Enda Bolger runner managed to win the race
How many people arguing against five days based on quality actually support the inclusion of the Cross Country because if you accept that race any addition short of a selling hurdle would be an improvement.
I agree. The CC, for me, is an excuse to make a brew and pop back later to see which Enda Bolger runner managed to win the race
Exactly. No-one is being forced to watch it. It must be quite popular though, otherwise it would close the Tuesday card as opposed to being bumped up the schedule so Channel 4 can show it.
As Jeremy says – if there’s any race that should definitely be included at the Festival it’s the XC afterall it is a National Hunt Festival rather than a "Four Foot Birch Festival" or "Springy Hurdles Festival".
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