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Ok, I admit it’s a pointlessly devisive question. But it’s still a bit of fun.
Top hats, tails, stupidly named cocktails, multi-million dollar horses, Henry Cecil and the Queen….
Or….
Barbours, bonnets, Guinness, horses bought out of a field in Eire, Paul Nicholls and Zara Phillips.
You decide.
I love Royal Ascot, it’s got everything: 2yo races where everyone is hoping to see the stars of the future; races like the St James Palace and Coronation Stakes where we find out who are the best 3yo milers; big sprints involving horses from all around the globe; mind-boggling handicaps; and Group 1 after Group 1.
But nothing tops Cheltenham
Ok, I admit it’s a pointlessly devisive question. But it’s still a bit of fun.
Top hats, tails, stupidly named cocktails, multi-million dollar horses, Henry Cecil and the Queen….
Or….
Barbours, bonnets, Guinness, horses bought out of a field in Eire, Paul Nicholls and Zara Phillips.
You decide.
And the Queen, wasn’t she there one year
Not a fair comparison you are not really comparing like with like.
Both have the highest quality racing for their particular codes.
Both have fantastic, but totally contrasting, atmospheres.
I wouldn’t miss either and I love both.
However I have voted "neither" as my absolute favourite festival is Arc weekend – top quality racing, a great buzz and set in one the loveliest cities in the world.
The Mayfly is up! Trout, Salmon and Scotsmen go mad!
Cormack has donned his chest waders and is neck-deep in the Leader Water with a very long rod, a box full of large glaringly-obvious flies and two enormous keepnets: one to hold the small, young and swift who dance and entrance, the other to hold the large, old and slow who meander and entrance
"But it’s still a bit of fun"
no it isn’t 
Possibly the most unpleasant and divisive threads on racing message boards – ones that reappear with alarming and unwlecome regularity – are the Flat v NH ‘which is better’ ‘which do you prefer’ type bollox
Royal Ascot and Cheltenham provide the racing fan with two banquets: incomparable and uncomparable
Leave it at that
But Drone (and Paul),
If – for some crazy reason – in 2012 they were scheduled to be staged at exactly the same time of the year, and you had to attend one or the other, which one would you attend?
You don’t want to compare them, and the situation above will never happen, but use your imagination for one second and pretend they are both staged during the same week for one year only, then serious question, which one would you attend?
And if it makes it easier (and fairer), let’s push Cheltenham back six week and bring Royal Ascot forward six week – so late April/early May it is.
Oh.. and I voted Cheltenham by the way. Cheltenham beats everything in my book, family birthdays, weddings, partner giving birth etc. Nothing gets a look in when Cheltenham is on.
If The Royal Meeting, The National Hunt Meeting, The Derby Meeting, The Lords Test, Henley Regatta, Wimbledon, Cowes Week, The York&Ainsty at Easingwold, Appleby Horse Fair, Trooping The Colour, The Boat Race and Harrogate Spring Flower Show were all held in the same week in June which would you attend One-Eyed one?
I’d be in Harrogate wearing a Top Hat and Barbour drinking Guinness washed down with stupidly-named Cocktail chasers
Silly Season is early this year
If The Royal Meeting, The National Hunt Meeting, The Derby Meeting, The Lords Test, Henley Regatta, Wimbledon, Cowes Week, The York&Ainsty at Easingwold, Appleby Horse Fair, Trooping The Colour, The Boat Race and Harrogate Spring Flower Show were all held in the same week in June which would you attend One-Eyed one?
Easingwold, of course. Next question.
gc
Adoptive father of two. The patron saint of lower-grade fare. A gently critical friend of point-to-pointing. Kindness is a political act.
If The Royal Meeting, The National Hunt Meeting, The Derby Meeting, The Lords Test, Henley Regatta, Wimbledon, Cowes Week, The York&Ainsty at Easingwold, Appleby Horse Fair, Trooping The Colour, The Boat Race and Harrogate Spring Flower Show were all held in the same week in June which would you attend One-Eyed one?
I’d be in Harrogate wearing a Top Hat and Barbour drinking Guinness washed down with stupidly-named Cocktail chasers
Silly Season is early this year
But that wasn’t the question posed by the original poster was it?
You dodged that original question, implying they are both excellent within their own right (which they are of course), so I just tried to make it easier for you to answer if you so wished. You obviously didn’t wish to choose which is absolutely fine.
It’s just a hypothetical question, a bit of fun as Cormack put it.
- Total Posts 17716
Cheltenham for me, and that’s coming from a flat fantatic!
I hate everything about Royal Ascot, the pompus toff mongral looking mugs can enjoy "their" meeting.
But Drone (and Paul),
If – for some crazy reason – in 2012 they were scheduled to be staged at exactly the same time of the year, and you had to attend one or the other, which one would you attend?
The way racing is run it probably isn’t that stupid a suggestion.
On a semantic point I did answer the original question in that I responded neither, choosing the Arc as the best.
But to respond to your devils advocate questioning – I would probably choose Ascot over Cheltenham – simply because Ascot is an easier course to work at and to watch the racing.
Cheltenham hands down.
I’m more of an NH fan which is obviously a major indicator, but the atmosphere is second to none. Yes it can be a bit of a mare to get around, especially on gold cup day, but I absolutely adore it.
It is a tough question, its like asking two parents to name which child they love the most.
Royal Ascot hosts the best flat racing although the York Ebor would run it close, the only annoyance is the fact that the real racing fans are shoved out of the way so the people who go just to be seen and because they are expected to be their get given the best seats in the house.
I didnt even go to Royal Ascot at York, instead i went to Worcester and had a pleasant and much quieter days summer jumping instead.
Cheltenham is the better of the two as "The Roar" is an amazing sound and is sadly lacking at Royal Ascot.
As im from the North West i must also be loyal to Aintree and say the Grand National Meeting does it for me, A great three days and the Thursday is one of the best deals that you can get in racing for the sheer quality that you get for your money.
I love both meetings.
However, my favourite is Cheltenham.
Are there any races at Royal Ascot that really can compare to the Champion Hurdle, The Queen Mother or the Gold Cup?
Let’s face it, the best and most prestigious race run at Ascot during the year isn’t even run during the Royal meeting. You couldn’t say the same for Cheltenham and the National Hunt Festival.
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