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Cross Country (Some of the greatest matches in wrestling history have been gimmick matches. This race is still yet to give us Foley vs Undertaker in a Hell In A Cell, let alone Bret “The Hitman” Hart vs Stone Cold Steve Austin in a submissions only match. Get rid.)
While i may not agree with your sentiment; anyone who combines racing talk with wrestling is alright in my books! But just as I’ve yet to see a bad TLC match; I’ve yet to see a bad cross country race!
For me the Ryanair would go, the mares novice would go and the martin pipe would go.
I personally love the cross country race, in fact it’s one of my favourite races of the week.
And laugh all you want, but I’d move the veterans final to the Cheltenham Festival. It’s always going to be an awesomely competitive affair without ever threatening to dilute the championship races or the other handicap chases during the week. Why not give some of these older horses a chance to be a festival winner? For me that’s one of the best qualities of the cross country races.
I like the idea of th veterans race at Cheltenham.
Get rid of one of the handicap hurdles to accommodate it
I don’t want a Veteran’s Race. For all the nostalgia attached, we are watching cuddies well past their sell-by date. Let our memories of them be when they were in their prime, not as clapped out shadows of their former selves.
The Festival should be about the present and what is coming for the future. When looking at these Veteran races, it’s like watching Arnold Palmer going out and having a bogey putt at the 18th in the second round for 18 over par and missing the cut by 20 years in the British Open.
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
None of them. It doesn’t need any more though and should never be allowed to go on another day.
For example, I think Royal Ascot is too long, I’m not overly bothered by the time the Diamond Jubilee comes around.
Reason why Cheltenham’s so brilliant is twofold; Very Best Quality Horses and Competitiveness.
What some fail to grasp is… without the latter it would be like any other “Festival” – an Aintree or Punchestown. Good though those are, there is only one Cheltenham. However, the more races the more it gets diluted. Too many races give connections the option of avoiding the Stars. Although still imo the best four days racing in the World, no doubt in my mind it is not as good as it was/should be… because of that extra day. Three day Festival would be ideal.Races I’d get rid of are: Ryanair Chase, JLT Novice Chase, Albert Bartlett Novice Hurdle, Dawn Run Mares Novice Hurdle and in time either the Martin Pipe Conditional Hurdle or Kim Muir Amateur Handicap Chase. I’d also change a few of the others.
Only the odd runner in those races are not effective at other distances/in other races and would enhance quality and competitiveness of those races. Tempting horses away from top races is never a good thing.
Cross Country does not attract good enough horses for professional jockeys, if kept I would make it purely for amateurs. It is after all most like a Point To Point. I’m not interested in it at all as a betting medium and wouldn’t miss it, but others do and is not all about me. At least it is unusual and doesn’t take any horses away from other races.
National Hunt Chase should be changed. It’s become a race enabling top owners and trainers with too many top staying novices to race their second or third strings against second and third rate novices not up to running in the RSA. Just as well change to a novice handicap, becoming less likely to take good horses away from the Grade 1 and make both races more competitive.
I see no problem with the Bumper. Although a “flat race” year after year provides a school for top quality jumpers and – again – importantly does not take any horse away from other races.
Fred Winter Handicap Hurdle does take horses away from the Triumph. However, looking at results it has seemingly/strangely enhanced the Triumph; used to be won by a lot of outsiders and those victorious seldom went on. Quality of winners going up since inception of the handicap. Not sure why, but imo history shows it would be the wrong move to do away with the Fred Winter.
Martin Pipe Conditional Hurdle imo is not good enough to be worth a place at the Cheltenham Festival. Having an average winning OR of 137.6, it’s a second rate Coral Cup which over the same time period is 143.3. Kim Muir at an average OR of 138.6 is only 1 ahead of the Martin Pipe and not good enough for a non-novice race. Cross Country is a different type of race altogether; it becoming amateur can take the place of the Kim Muir. May be allow the KM and MP to continue for now, then keep the better quality one for conditionals.
We don’t need two staying races for novice hurdlers; only lessens overall quality/competitiveness of both Albert Bartlett and Neptune. Why not have Yorkhill, Yanworth and Uknowhatimeanharry in one race for a true “Championship”. These days other than the first one or two very few go on to make their mark. Every year we can only guess at which staying race a novice is going to race in. If two races were necessary then being doubly entered would not be the norm.
There aren’t enough top class novice chasers around to warrant three Grade 1’s. Enabling the top novices of GB and I (and top novices of particular yards) to avoid each other. Un De Sceaux, Vautour and Don Poli in 2015; would’ve been great to see UDS taking on V. In 2016 Black Hercules and Bristol De Mai avoided Douvan and what were thought to be top novices More Of That and No More Heros, only for the latter pair to go wrong. This year we have Yorkhill and Top Notch avoiding Altior. There are too many options, the best are less likely to meet the best and we seldom have true Championships. Get rid of the JLT. All bar one or two of its runners would be fully effective at either 2m or 3m.
Current Ryanair favourite (and previous Champion Chase winner) Un De Sceaux would obviously enhance the Champion Chase. Another well-touted for the Champion, Fox Norton could yet defect to the Ryanair. Imperial Commander won the lesser race and went on to victory in the following year’s Gold Cup. Does anyone believe we would’ve seen Moscow Flyer Vs Azertyuiop Vs Well Chief in the Champion Chase if we’d have had a Grade 1 Ryanair? You’ve only got to compare the Ryanair ante-post book with Champion Chase and Gold Cup to realise vast majority of the very best horses are effective at more than one trip. Connections usually run their horses in the race which gives them the best chance of winning. That means more than distance is taken in to account. Quality of opposition is a major factor as well as what else the owner has. Empire Of Dirt’s connections also have Outlander and Don Poli for the Gold Cup, so it’s understandable O’Leary was unlikely to take a chance on EOD’s stamina and wanted to win his own Ryanair Chase. Now Don Poli is out of the Gold Cup, EOD comes in to consideration for the longer race. Of all this season’s top twenty-five in the Ryanair market only one – Josses Hill – I’d say is a definite 2½ miler and no longer effective at 2m (or 3m2f). Can always go back 30 years and find the odd specialist 2½ miler (although even Very Promising was fully effective at 2 miles, good close runner-up to better horses at the minimum trip). But to have a race purely because there’s one or two specialists is not imo practicable when it takes so many top horses away from other races and reduces competitiveness.
Best horses in the Mares Hurdle – Apples Jade, Vroum Vroum Mag and Limini would all enhance either Champion or Stayers Hurdles.
Would Flakey Dove have won the Champion Hurdle had there been a Mares Hurdle?
Would the only horse to ever win both Champion Hurdle and Gold Cup (Dawn Run) have run in either of those two fabulous races had the Mares Hurdle been available?
Mares Hurdle allowed perhaps the only horse capable of challenging Big Buck’s to avoid him and (although still worth watching) detracted from the Stayers Hurdle.
Annie Power was second in a good Stayers Hurdle in 2014, fell at the last with the Mares at her mercy in 2015 before going on to Champion victory in 2016. But allowed to even run in the latter only because her stable/owner companion Faugheen met with injury. ie The only way this subsequent easy Champion Hurdle winner was going to run in the race was through one (and only one) particular horse meeting with an accident; otherwise it would’ve been the soft option Mares Hurdle for her.
The race is not doing what it was made for. Fine… if they want a Mares Hurdle to attract breeders to the game and encourage mares to race over obstacles – DON’T make it a Mullins benefit! Limited handicap would give more breeders and owners of mares a chance of winning at Cheltenham, whilst also encouraging connections of top class mares to take the Grade 1 route.We certainly don’t need a Dawn Run Mares Novice Hurdle, overall quality of horse in this race is not good enough and the best mares can enhance the other novice races. From memory… French Ballerina, Like A Butterfly and Minorettes Girl all ran well against males, first two winning. Inaugural Dawn Run winner Limini – the 8/11 fav ran away from a poor quality uncompetitive field; half of which started 50/1 or bigger. In truth of the 16 runners only Limini was good enough to run at the Cheltenham Festival. This a race unworthy of the mare it is named after.
Really good post.
I agree with virtually everything you say, apart from losing the Ryanair.
I accept your point about Apples Jade, Vroum Vroum Mag and Limini, enhancing other races, but they didn’t do a bad job either today in enhancing the mares hurdle !.
Cracking race.
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