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1) Vautour – Looks like a different kind of animal. Heads a sickeningly intimidating Mullins triumvirate for next year’s Gold Cup alongside Don Poli and Djakadam.
2) Uxizandre getting McCoy his final festival win.
3) Cole Harden putting the brilliant Warren Greatrex on the map
Honourable mention: Couldhavehaditall getting up from his horrible fall at Towcester yesterday.
I’d echo Vautour’s and Uxizandre’s win and add Coneygree. Not very original I’m afraid. An honerable mention for Sam TD winning the Ryanair. Great relief for him and the Ditcheat team.
All in all I’d say it was an epic Cheltenham with most of the ‘right’ horses winning, and some exciting new stars for the future, making the prospect for Cheltenham 2016 a mouthwatering one.
I'd like to live in a place where they cordon off swans...Cole Harden and Coneygree showing that the small trainers can still win on the big stage..and doing it from the front in such an amazing way. Seeng Annie Power walk away from her fall.
1) Vautour = Jaw dropping performance.
2) Coneygree = A brilliant front running performance from a novice. I really didn’t think this could happen.
3) 2 Minutes after Coneygree – It struck me the 2016 renewal could be one of the greatest ever. A not to be missed. It actually sent shivers down my spine. Please, please, please let Coneygree, Djakadam, Don Poli, Vautour et al get there in one piece
1) Coneygree – Small yard and winning the Blue Riband with a novice. Not many would’ve tried. Emotional stuff.
2) The Novice Chasers – Am cheating a bit, three of the best novice chase winners we have ever seen. imo Un De Sceaux would’ve beaten Dodging Bullets had he gone for the Queen Mum and Vautour definitely would’ve won the Ryanair and Don Poli would’ve given Coneygree a race in the Gold Cup.
3) AP on Uxizandre, even though it cost me plenty with Ma Filleule ante-post I couldn’t be downhearted. Fantastic piece of attacking front-running, turning back time to before the JP link, an old fashioned AP ride. I know there were other front-running rides, but AP made Uxizandre’s mind up at many obstacles, askinh him up. Where as others made use of their mount’s natural enthusiasm.
Value Is EverythingIt was quite noticeable, I thought, how many of the winning rides led from start to finish.
I'd like to live in a place where they cordon off swans...Vautour
Vautour
Vautour
He was amazing, the most exciting prospect at the Festival, just took your breath away.
Looks like the oldies but goldies have to move over for the new kids on the block now,
Coneygree, Vautour, Dodging Bullets and Djakadam will be forces to be reckoned with next year.Things turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out...Vautour, Douvan….I cannot leave out Un De Sceaux, Faugheen, Moon Racer, Peace And Co, Coneygree – best Festival EVER. :)
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It's the "Millwall FC" of Point broadcasts: "No One Likes Us - We Don't Care"It was, for me, the best ever too.
I'd like to live in a place where they cordon off swans...1. Coneygree – everything NH racing should be about
2. Uxizandre – vintage McCoy
3. Darna – great to see Kim Bailey back in the winner’s enclosureVautour, Coneygree, Annie Power getting up after what looked a neck breaking fall.
We’re becoming so used to Mullins winning at the festival, that many are becoming blase or even bored. History will show we are experiencing a phenomenon so astonishing, future fans will wish they could have been here for just one of these freak festivals.
A world-class event at which an owner, trainer or jockey dream of having even one winner in a lifetime…Mullins wins 8 at one meeting, taking almost a third of all the trophies on offer over four days…astounding.
And he’s no handicap specialist like Pipe was. He has horses that take the breath away, yet the humility to admit mistakes like not giving a Hennessy prep to Djakadam (how far would that have won fully fit at Newbury?)
He has the skills and the staff and the owners, but what kind of genius buys these beasts for them? An awful lot of credit should go to the buyers. Vautour’s purchase alone would win the Nobel prize for talent spotting.
After a fallow period of average Gold Cups, another Arkle/Mill House era suddenly looms, courtesy of Mullins. As good as Coneygree was, I don’t fancy his chances defending his crown. As Napoleon said, ‘God is with the big battalions.’
1 – David Johnsons The Package winning the Kim Muir
2 – Conygree even though i backed him at fancy odds for the RSA that was great to see yesterday
3 – Paul Nichols contradicting himself over what Ground / track Silv conti wants.
1) Coneygree – Superb front-running performance with added grit and determination to slowly dissolve a top class field. Beat a better class of opposition compared to the likes of Don Poli and Vautour.
2) AP McCoy – Delivering a masterclass riding display on Uxizandre. A wizard was at work.
3) Nicky Henderson – Filling the first three places in the Triumph Hurdle. Peace And Co, in particular, looks top drawer stuff.
Have to mention though, seeing Warren Greatrex’s howls of elation and looking up to the sky with pure joy was utterly great for the heart. Wish this trainer all the best for the future.
Annie Power getting up; always loved this mare, with another stable/owner she’d already have a Champion Hurdle in the bag, and being readied for the Gold Cup. Vautour/UDS/DonPoli, best 3 winners of the novice chases I’ve ever seen. And Coneygree! I didn’t think it was the right decision, hadn’t been impressed by the Feltham, tho after Newbury he looked a live candidate. Just loved the way he blasted away from the front, the others were off the bit the whole way, and great to see a small stable winning. Hope they all make it next year.
Have to cheat; Faugheen has looked unstoppable, so we take him for granted, I don’t remember a Champion Hurdle being so obviously in the bag from so far out. Is it true he was bought for £12,000?
And farewell to the great McCoy, never was affection so richly deserved
Only 362 days to go
Vautour blew his opponents away like nothing else at this year’s meeting. The sky would appear to be the limit for him next year.
Coneygree was as game as a pebble, when most times you would have expected something to come and take him on the run in. Terrific result for David against Goliath
Moon Racer was a personal highlight for me. A £5000 horse who landed a Fairyhouse bumper at 50/1 in good style on his debut, he seemed well worth a bet at 12/1 against the Mullins cavalry charge. Still available at 9/1 the night before, he was backed into 9/2 favourite by off time. Left behind from the standing start, the jockey was forced to race in behind and just pray that he would get out. I thought he ended up winning with a bit in reserve and he’s prominent for some of next year’s Novice hurdle contests. I don’t think he captured the imagination of the general racing fan this year, maybe he will next season.
Thanks for the good crack. Time for me to move on. Be lucky.
1) Coneygree – Outstanding front running performance with the added romance with it being from a small yard etc….he may not have been as spectacular on the eye as Vautour but he was doing it tough from the front in a gruelling race against much tougher opposition….the clock suggests Vautour was about on a par with last years running, and suggests Coneygree was just a freak performance!
2) Faugheen – A horse I got completely wrong! I questioned his previous form, whether he would be as good at that distance against the best in the division, but he proved what a horse he really is….you could argue they went slow early on and he was given a bit of an easy lead, but barring one, he jumped superbly and settled the race in a matter of strides taking about 3-4 lengths out of the field with an electric turn of pace…
3) Vautour – Still a bit unsure as to the quality of what he beat but it was spectacular on the eye…a fantastic round of jumping and proved he will be a serious horse at next years festival and very tough to beat in whatever race he turns up in…and in all honesty that could be any one of the championship races!!
As has been said though, what a festival…one of the best I can remember..
Always associating the festival with St Patricks day, I booked the wrong week off work when I was making my plans in January, so I didn’t see too much of the racing live, but I did follow the Guardian blog on my phone as much as possible and as always they combined passion and quality output all week, so kudos to Team Guardian.
As mentioned in another post I’m constantly surprised at how casual so many connections are about tactics in big races and that was something that stood out again this week.
Something else that stood out was how little chance you have going wide in big fields on good ground at Cheltenham. Fairly obvious, but amazing how many jockeys go that route with the choke out ’round Prestbury at the festival and commit suicide in the process.
Cheltenham this week reinforced my view that top level National Hunt racing is so much about gauging where a horse is on its improvement scale, rather than its actual raceday master rating imo. Its a scale the market can have trouble quantifying. Theres an edge there.
As ever during the week a few too many of the jumping fraternity were unable to enjoy their code of the sport without having a snipe at the flat, Mark Bradstock included it seems.
It was genuinely sad to see McCoy ride his last race at the festival. No doubt he will be missed, massively. As I’ve said before I think a man in his prime, drive, hunger and love intact, with his support network and connections could do the five grand and still spend the next 45 years a content ex-jockey. Right now I think he’s more gutted than satisfied.
A picture speaks a thousand words…..
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