Cheltenham 2008

[Drvmb1ggl3]

What? - The biggest jump racing festival in the world (biggest racing festival in terms of betting, around $1b in handle over the 4 days). Over 200,000 pints of Guinness will be imbibed on-site, plus untold millions off-site. Total prize money of around $7m for the 24 races.
When? - Tue through Fri
Where? - Prestbury Park racecourse in Cheltenham, nestled under the bleak but beautiful Cotswolds in Gloucestershire in the southwest of England .
The Hurdle course (http://www.racingpost.co.uk/images/course_maps/w_cheltenhamh.jpg), the Chase Course (http://www.racingpost.co.uk/images/course_maps/w_cheltenhamch.jpg). Aerial view (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e9/Cheltenham.racecourse.arp.jpg/800px-Cheltenham.racecourse.arp.jpg) of the course.

Feature races
Tue - Champion Hurdle G1, Hurdles, 2m+½f, $720k
Wed - Champion Chase G1, Chase, 2m, $620k
Thu - Stayers Hurdle G1, Hurdles, 3m, $500k
Fri - Gold Cup G1, Chase, 3m2½f, $900k

Feature race goes off at 3:15pm local time, with five other races on the undercard each day, many G1s and/or championship events in their respective divisions.

[Drvmb1ggl3]

There are 17 runners in Tuesday's big race, the Champion Hurdle, but the race is being billed as a showdown between reigning champ, Sublimity and the hot young gun, Sizing Europe. Sublimity has run only once since winning the race last year, finishing third in a race in Dec.
The field.

Champion Hurdle G1, 2m, Hurdles, 4yo+,
Weight - 11st-10lbs (164lbs) all runners

-- Horse ------ Age -- Trainer -- Jockey
1 Afsoun (FR) 6 N J Henderson M A Fitzgerald
2 Blythe Knight (IRE) 8 J J Quinn D C Costello
3 Bobs Pride (IRE) 6 D K Weld Denis O'regan
4 Catch Me (GER) 6 E J O'Grady R Walsh
5 Contraband (GB) 10 Paul Murphy T J Dreaper
6 Ebaziyan (IRE) 7 W P Mullins D J Condon
7 Farmer Brown (IRE) 7 P Hughes D N Russell
8 Harchibald (FR) 9 N Meade P Carberry
9 Kalderon (GER) 8 T Hogan D J Casey
10 Katchit (IRE) 5 A King R Thornton
11 Kawagino (IRE) 8 J W Mullins W P Kavanagh
12 Osana (FR) 6 D Pipe T Scudamore
13 Punjabi (GB) 5 N J Henderson B J Geraghty
14 Salford City (IRE) 7 G Elliott Miss N Carberry
15 Sizing Europe (IRE) 6 H De Bromhead A J Mcnamara
16 Straw Bear (USA) 7 N J Gifford A P McCoy
17 Sublimity (FR) 8 J G Carr P A Carberry

[Drvmb1ggl3]

Interesting article on FoxBusiness.com (http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/article/cheltenham-jump-horseracing-competition_511861_19.html) about the Cheltenham festival and it's magnitude from a betting standpoint.
Cheltenham Has The Jump On Its Horse-racing Competition (http://www.chronicleforums.com/Forum/Cheltenham%20Has%20The%20Jump%20On%20Its%20Horse-racing%20Competition)

an excerpt


CHICAGO -- It may be the biggest sporting event you've never heard of.

Over the course of four days this week, about 230,000 people will gather on a small parcel of the English countryside for the Cheltenham Festival to watch 500 horses jump their way through 25 races. And they, along with bettors at home across Great Britain and Ireland, will wager almost $1 billion on the races -- more than three times the entire global handle of Kentucky Derby Day and the Breeder's Cup combined.

Several million more will watch the festival on TV in pubs, clubs and betting shops as it builds toward the biggest race of the week: Friday's Totesport Gold Cup with returning champion Kauto Star and its million-pound purse.

Jump-racing, or steeplechase racing as some call it, while virtually unknown here is big business in the U.K., attracting massive crowds, corporate sponsorships and thousands upon thousands of wagers.......


....... And jump-racing horses, mostly geldings but with a few mares here and there, have much longer careers, he pointed out, allowing them to develop loyal followings over a period of years. They can start at about 4 -- a year older than those that run in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs and essentially the end of a thoroughbred's time on the track -- and still be competing at 11 or 12. One jumper, Best Mate, won the Gold Cup three years in a row from 2002 to 2004.

"The pace of jump races is slower but the distance is two to three times longer," Bray said. "There is less speed work and more endurance training so they last longer."..........


.......... A sport for all demographics

If the sport's appeal is deep in the Anglo-Irish psyche, it is also broad -- and nowhere more so than at Cheltenham where farmers rub shoulders with Fortune 500 executives.

The festival is a big corporate entertainment event -- sponsors include Diageo's Guinness, auction house Christie's and various financial service and industrial firms -- it has a distinctly egalitarian side in still class-conscious England, said Edward Gillespie, Cheltenham's managing director.

Unlike Royal Ascot, where "the smart set and not-so-smart set tend to keep to themselves," his track has more of a free-for-all feel where "people just mix up. There might be a guy worth millions standing next to someone who probably stole the money to get into the track."........

[Equilibrium]

Would have to say the ground will suit Sizing Europe better than Sublimity or Harchibald. Be very wary of Straw Bear too.

Can't wait for the action to start!

Terri

[SteeleRdr]

I was supposed to be there this year...I'm so angry!!!

Hopefully next year!

[Equilibrium]

Well it was all Katchit in the Champion Hurdle. Some feet for the Juvenile winner last year. Such a hardy little fighter. Harchibald did not like the ground, Sublimity looked to be a race short, and poor Sizing Europe must have bled or choked. He stopped very quickly in the stretch when looking pretty comfy the whole way. Hats to Osana who lead the whole way, looked beat, and came back to run a brillant second.

Steele Rider,
Don't feel bad, sure I'm in Ireland and will never get there as all the mares are foaling at this time! I'd say my husband will go next year if any of the horses we manage get there. But I will mostly be here looking after the Ladies!

Terri

[Drvmb1ggl3]

Replay of the Champion Hurdle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhYzzIpTRG4).
Well, the bookies made a killing on this one. Major dissapointment from Sizing Europe, looked to be his race two out and then he blew-up. Trotted out sound afterwards, but it'll Interesting to see if the vet finds anything tomorrow. You'd have to question Sublimity's preperation, a lot to ask of a horse with only the one run in the last 12 months. Will be hard to bet against him at Punchestown with that run in him.
Fair play to Katchit though, no small feat for a 5 year old, plucky little horse.

[Drvmb1ggl3]

Nina Carberry rode the winner of the Cross Country Chase for the second year in a row, aboard Grade Champetre, over the XC course that winds and snakes it's way around the infield. Replay (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAHWSe2XS7U).

[SteeleRdr]

Steele Rider,
Don't feel bad, sure I'm in Ireland and will never get there as all the mares are foaling at this time! I'd say my husband will go next year if any of the horses we manage get there. But I will mostly be here looking after the Ladies!

Terri

Heck, I'll come visit you and help with the mares if I can get a place to crash! My two trips that I've been trying to plan are to Ireland to see the races over fences (and the horses) and to Cheltenham. I'm not adverse to working on vacation! Haha. Heck, I do that now anyways!

Missed seeing the race due to being in a meeting, however, thanks Drv for the link to the replay.
~Tiffany

[Equilibrium]

Steele Rider,
Your more than welcome, but perhaps you should do the festival first and then come over! That way your combining the 2 vacations you want all rolled into one. I would think, however, after the festival, you'd be doing a fair amount of sleeping and hangover recovery!
It's amazing over here when the festival is on. You can't go anywhere, listen, or watch anything that doesn't include the Festival. It really is amazing. One of our owners is over there at the minuete and he's having an awesome time. He goes every year and funny enough, he doesn't touch alcohol.

Terri

[JER]

A few comments from Cheltenham:

It's nice to have a free place to stay half a mile from the course.

Katchit was a hot local tip, at least from the gossip on the Pittville lanes. Sadly, we did not put money on him. Nice race, though.

The William Hill Handicap Chase was really exciting. Once again, we picked the winner -- An Accordion -- then went off in pursuit of donuts and coffee and didn't get around to betting.

The Cross Country Chase was won by a horse that cost 530,000 gns. Not a good return on your investment but this horse is an excellent XC horse and Nina Carberry got a well-deserved win.

Ok. So here's what made the biggest impression on us: the racetrack attendance is about 95% male. Women of all ages are scarce, scarce, scarce. When we walked into the bar area at one of the enclosures, I said to my friend "This looks like a gay bar." (I didn't say it too loud.) She disagreed; she said there's more women at gay bars.

And now we have a free day in Cheltenham, courtesy of the winds. The winds were bad last night, not so bad now, and not near as bad as Monday, when my aircraft almost became a statistic while attempting to land at Heathrow. The pilot couldn't make the runway and we aborted about 20 feet from the ground. Heathrow promptly shut the airport and I ended having to take Eurostar from Brussels.

The good news is there's more racing to look forward to on Thursday and Friday.

[Drvmb1ggl3]

Holy Smokes!!! Master Minded, what a performance in the Champion Chase!
Scintillating, and he's just a 5yo.

[Equilibrium]

Master Minded was awesome but have to say Inglis Dreaver was the man of the day. That's 3 times now he's won the World Hurdle and he's only 9.

Would also like to take the time to mention ID's groom, who also grooms Tidal Bay, a winner on Monday. Channel 4 did a whole piece on her which was very nice. Her name is Ginny Wright and she's from Israel. He opening quote was, "I came her with nothing, and I still have nothing, but it's all mine" Couldn't be around a more positive girl and she adores her horses. She's the type of person you want taking care of your horses. What I like about over here is grooms get credited more than they would in the states. They have many best turned out awards and during the trophy presentations, the groom is always included. Most of the grooms over here would also gallop their horses too. I just always think it rather nice for grooms/riders to get credit as it's not very common place for that kind of thing in America.

Another awesome day of racing. At this stage I'm inclined to think Tony Martin is in cahootes with bookmakers. He's had 3 starting favorites, all of whom have gotten tanked. He only trains a mile down the road so I often see his string of horses training any time between 8am and 4pm. Maybe he's just saving up for a big one tomorrow!

Terri

[JER]

Masterminded was incredible. He looked the same at fence 1 as he did at the finish. It took nothing out of him. He's a really athletic-looking horse as well, really stands out from the others.

Inglis Drever had a great finish in the World Hurdle, really charging up the hill.

It's been raining pretty steadily since 4 pm, I heard this will continue through the night, which will change the going a bit for tomorrow.

[Drvmb1ggl3]

I guess people haven't seen it yet, hence the lack of comments... the Champion Chase replay (http://youtube.com/watch?v=EFbPrDV4Gdk).
Finest performance at Cheltenham in years... decades perhaps.

[Drvmb1ggl3]

Meanwhile Inglis Drever wrote himself into the history books with his third win in the Stayers Hurdle, da replay (http://youtube.com/watch?v=hqwqAAqRhHE).

[Equilibrium]

Was also glad to see Tony McCoy in the winners circle on Alberta's Run knowing how hard it was to get here for Tony. Had a tumble in the next which isn't such a great thing after breaking your back in January. They don't make them much tougher than him.

GER,
Have seen the rain on TV, not looking very nice at the moment. I thought it was supposed to clear up for you all over there, but maybe not. I'm thinking the ground might suit Denman just slightly over Kauto, but we will see tomorrow.

Terri

[Drvmb1ggl3]

Here's part of the CH4 interview (http://racinguk.video.premiumtv.co.uk/promo_clips/ginny_wright_100308_lo.wmv) with Ginny Wright that Terri mentioned earlier.

[vineyridge]

I watched Master Minded on YouTube in French. Did not matter one bit, as he and Voy se Ustedes were the only horses in the race for most of it. Then Voy (whatever) gave out and Master Minded just motored on. The second horse was almost as far ahead of the field as Master Minded was ahead of him.

Amazing performance.

I started downloading when I went out to feed, and an hour and a half later the race was on my slow dialup.

[Drvmb1ggl3]

Clash of the Titans goes off in a little over an hour, the Ali vs Frazier (http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00438/Paul_Nicholls_682x4_438228a.jpg) of jump racing, (Kauto is the one on the left with the big Irish bred bruiser, Denman, on the right).
Kauto Star currently trading at evens, with the young pretender second choice at 2/1 and it's 10/1 the rest of the field, some great each-way bets in there.
Can the unimagineable happen??? Neither of the big two win??

15 runners in all. Interesting entry is a Afistfullofdllars, who was supplimented to the race a few days ago at the cost of over $50k, his connections are obviously feeling confident.


Totesport Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase (G1),
3m2½f
5+-y-o plus

1 311/21-1 Afistfullofdollars Noel Meade
b g Be My Native (USA) - Myra Gaye
10, 11-10 (19) (Eamon McElroy) P Carberry

2 P-7 Azulejo M Scudamore
b g Pistolet Bleu (IRE) - Junta (FR)
10, 11-10 (45) (J E Wilson & T J Wilson) T Scudamore

3 37-U1/P3 Celestial Gold D Pipe
br g Persian Mews - What A Queen
10, 11-10 (34)(C2)(D) (Mr D A Johnson) T J Murphy

4 P0-459-0 Contraband Paul Murphy
b g Red Ransom (USA) - Shortfall (GB)
10, 11-10 (3)(C2) (Mr J B Webb) T J Dreaper

5 1-1111-1 Denman P F Nicholls
ch g Presenting (GB) - Polly Puttens
8, 11-10 (34)(C3)(D) (Paul K Barber & Mrs M Findlay) S Thomas

6 121323- Exotic Dancer Jonjo O'Neill
b g Turgeon (USA) - Northine (FR)
8, 11-10 (79)(C4) (Sir Robert Ogden) A P McCoy

7 Fustrien du Paon R Chotard
b g Neustrien (FR) - Fulgora du Paon (FR)
12, 11-10 (Fergus Wilson) A Lecordier

8 11-3P32- Halcon Genelardais A King
ch g Halcon (GB) - Francetphile (FR)
8, 11-10 (78) (Ian Payne & Kim Franklin) R Thornton

9 416F-5P Iron Man P Bowen
ch g Video Rock (FR) - Key Figure (FR)
7, 11-10 (20) (R Owen & P Fullagar) Denis O'Regan

10 11211-1 Kauto Star P F Nicholls
b g Village Star (FR) - Kauto Relka (FR)
8, 11-10 (27)(CD) (Clive D Smith) R Walsh

11 U135P-1 Knowhere N A Twiston-Davies
b g Lord Americo - Andarta
10, 11-10 (48)(C2) (Mr H R Mould) P J Brennan

12 6-F81-31 Neptune Collonges P Nicholls
gr g Dom Alco (FR) - Castille Collonges (FR)
7, 11-10 (27) (Mr J Hales) M A Fitzgerald

13 7-16-447 Ollie Magern N A Twiston-Davies
b g Alderbrook (GB) - Outfield
10, 11-10 (2)(C2)(D2) (Mr Roger Nicholls) Non Runner

14 F5414-3 Racing Demon Miss H C Knight
b g Old Vic - All Set (IRE)
8, 11-10 (27) (Mrs T P Radford) Paul Moloney

15 11111/3 Star De Mohaison P F Nicholls
b g Beyssac (FR) - Belle De Mohaison (FR)
7, 11-10 (73)(C2) (Sir Robert Ogden) B J Geraghty

[Drvmb1ggl3]

Theres a new king.

[SteeleRdr]

Wait, who won? I missed it.

[EasterEgg]

Denman:D

[Drvmb1ggl3]

Denman, the big bruiser (and man is he ever a bruiser, the old "my TB gets mistaken for a WB" cliche could be applied to this horse times ten... he looks like a WB circa 1940) ground Kauto Star, and the rest of the field, into the dirt. Ruby had the whip out on Kauto Star 3 from home, Denman just ran like a tremendous machine. Beautiful run. Well ridden by Sam Thomas.

[Drvmb1ggl3]

Btw, Paul Nicholls trained the first three home..

1 Denman
2 Kauto Star
3 Neptune Collonges

[Drvmb1ggl3]

Replay of the Gold Cup (http://youtube.com/watch?v=NpDhCqtSrqg) for those who haven't seen it.
Enjoy.

[Equilibrium]

What a galloper Denman is. Had a circuit left to go and he just strided to the front easy as you like. Jumped brilliantly and is a monster. And yes, he would definitley be mistaken for a warmblood. What a great race. Of course they had to go and ruin it by interviewing Harry Findlay afterwards. Not nice to talk about breaking another horses heart with such zest. Anyway, well done to Paul Nichols for a superb training effort with all 3 horses.

Terri

[JER]

We backed Denman, never had a moment's doubt he was going to win.

Our 96 year-old host suggested we also put some money on Neptune de Collogne, which we did, so we are happy.

Denman was awesome, he makes up about 4 strides over a fence whenever he feels like it and just gallops on.

I thought Ruby Walsh was smart to ride Kauto Star where he did but Denman was relentless.

The Nicholls group were in fine spirits up by the holding barn. Kauto Star was parading around as if he was still the star. He's quite a ham,s topping and posing for the crowd on every circle. I guess he couldn't read what was written on Denman's championship rug or perhaps he just didn't care.

Denman's owner, Harry Findlay was standing a few feet in front of us for the race, he was over the moon with the win.