Cheltenham Festival.

familiar colours

Binocular among 24 Champion possibles


BINOCULAR features in the list of 24 possibles remaining in the Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle at the six-day stage, with all the leading contenders standing their ground for the feature race on the opening day of the 2009 Cheltenham Festival.

There were no withdrawals among the big names for the Irish Independent Arkle Trophy Chase, with the likes of Tatenen and Calgary Bay listed among the 19 left in the race.

And there were no surprise absentees from the list of possibles for the opening williamhill.com Supreme Novices' Hurdle, for which 30 are still left in.

Noel Meade, trainer of Champion Hurdle hope Harchibald, said on Wednesday: "As everyone knows, the ground is hugely important for him. He has to have it good as he just cannot handle testing conditions."

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TWELVE months after Champion Chase day was blown away, the Cheltenham Festival faces the possible threat of high winds once again next week.

A Met Office spokesman said on Friday: "Before we get under way, the rain on Monday night is going to be accompanied by some fair winds.

"You have got to look out for a period in the overnight of Monday into Tuesday of seeing some gale force winds, you could be looking at 60mph-70mph gusts possible."

However, clerk of the course Simon Claisse played down fears and said: "Bear in mind the Met Office said on Tuesday we would get 14mm to 20mm of rain and we got 11mm. We use someone else for our forecasts and they are telling me we will have gusts to 40mph, and that would be no problem.

"I know we had problems last year,but we are quite well protected here from the Welsh hills and the wind tolerances on the temporary structures have been increased."

Cheltenham managing director Edward Gillespie stressed: "We have 40mph on our forecast, which is comfortably within the tolerances. Since last year, by redesign of temporary structures, we have raised the occupied tolerance to 50mph so we can allow people to get into marquees up to 50mph, whereas this time last year it was 40mph."

Ground conditions were drying out at Cheltenham on Friday.

Clerk of the course Simon Claisse described the going as good to soft, good in places on the Old and New courses, good to soft, soft in places on the cross-country course.

But the Met Office forecast at least half an inch of rain at Cheltenham overnight on Monday and into Tuesday.

Cheltenham Pick Six?

Given that the racing operators in this country seem pretty much unmoved by anything except the opportunity to sell more betting tickets I am quite surprised that they have never seen the merit in upgrading our tote software to handle more than 20 runners and followed it up by offering a Pick 6 on each of the Cheltenham Festival's 4 days of racing.

Winners are pretty hard to find at this meeting. Although there is a mass of form available for every race this would be more than offset by fields of up to 30+ runners. This should dovetail quite well with the operators' apparent desire to offer a lottery disguised as a form exercise.

Imagine - in the event of a carryover they have no less than 4 successive days in which to intrigue ( taunt? ) punters with a succession of hard-to-win exotics.

I have no doubt that it would greatly enlarge interest in the Festival as well as give some lucky individuals the chance to pocket huge money.

After browsing through the Cheltenham Festival footage and clips,i find it hard to believe how they can afford to pay 80 quid entrance fees and thats just standing space or rather sardine space,excluding food and beverages.The Poms have got this one well worked out and unless this footage is rent a crowd it seems like we have got a lot to learn,as we only get this type of enthusiasm on July/J and B Met day,i bet the vibe must be electric.Can we organise a bus,just kidding.

zoro Wrote:

---

> After browsing through the Cheltenham Festival
> footage and clips,i find it hard to believe how
> they can afford to pay 80 quid entrance fees and
> thats just standing space or rather sardine
> space,excluding food and beverages.The Poms have
> got this one well worked out and unless this
> footage is rent a crowd it seems like we have got
> a lot to learn,as we only get this type of
> enthusiasm on July/J and B Met day,i bet the vibe
> must be electric.Can we organise a bus,just
> kidding.


why dont you ABC on tour to next years festival,not sure you guys would manage the drink tho

We will have drinks on the bus!

Kauto Star out to 9-4 - and likely to go bigger


TOTESPORT Cheltenham Gold Cup favourite Kauto Star was pushed out on Sunday to 9-4 by William Hill - and the firm believes that the former champion could drift to as big as 3-1 if punters continue to desert him.

On a day when Smurfit Kappa Champion Hurdle favourite Binocular eased to 13-8 and William Hill lengthened Thursday favourites Kasbah Bliss to 5-4 (from 11-10) and Voy Por Ustedes to 11-10 (from evens), the firm took their dismissive stance towards Kauto Star to a new level by pushing him out to 9-4 from 2-1.



Spokesman Tony Kenny said: "Punters don't seem to be interested in backing Kauto at any price. Some firms make him as low as 6-4 favourite for the Gold Cup, but the way things are going he could drift out to 11-4 or 3-1 before Friday."

While Kauto Star's popularity has waned, Dermot Weld's Weatherbys Champion Bumper candidate Rite Of Passage was on Sunday in great demand. Stan James cut him to 9-2 from 6-1, Paddy Power and Victor Chandler went 5-1 from 6-1 and Ladbrokes and Skybet trimmed his odds to 6-1 from 7-1.

Ladbrokesspokesman David Williams said: "Rite Of Passage is the latest Bumper hotpot. As far as the market is concerned he's the horse most likely to upset the Willie Mullins procession."

Also popular on Sunday was the Mullins-trained Mikael D'Haguenet, cut to 4-1 from 5-1 by Ladbrokes and Stan James for the Ballymore Properties Novices' Hurdle. Stablemate Cousin Vinny is 2-1 favourite from 9-4 for the Williamhill.com Supreme Novices' Hurdle with Victor Chandler, while the JP McManus-owned Miss Sarenne is down to 7-1 from 9-1 by Skybet for the Fred Winter Hurdle.

Boylesports has sought to tempt punters by vowing to refund all single bet stakes on all Cheltenham seconds if Binocular, Kasbah Bliss and Kauto Star all triumph.

The 2009 Cheltenham Festival, which begins on Tuesday, is the undoubted highlight of the National Hunt calendar.

Over the four days of racing, more than 200,000 people will travel to the Gloucestershire course to take in the top-class racing action and soak up the unique Festival atmosphere.

As well as the home raiders, there is also a strong Irish contingent with some French stars hoping to take the prizes across the English Channel.

Despite the economic gloom, more than £500m will be gambled on the outcome of the 26 races with owners and trainers chasing total prize money of £3.56m.


Although racegoers will flock to Prestbury Park for the four days of the Festival, the current economic climate is likely to have an impact on this year's meeting.

Thousands traditionally travel over from Ireland but there are estimates that numbers will be down this year, with many racing fans likely to reduce their stay in Cheltenham by a night or two, while hospitality bookings are down up to 15%.

Cheltenham's managing director Edward Gillespie is happy with the record prize money on offer, but he has warned it might not be the same next year.

"It's very possible that the downturn in business at the Festival will impact on prize money next season but it is too early to predict the impact the recession may have on some of our sponsors," he said.



The opening day's feature race is the Champion Hurdle with Binocular a red-hot favourite.

Owned by legendary punter JP McManus and trained by Nicky Henderson, the five-year-old is unbeaten this season and his pilot Tony McCoy is a big fan.

However, there are some concerns that last time he ran at Cheltenham, in last year's Supreme Novices' Hurdle, he found the hill up to the finish line too tough and faded to second.

At his pre-Festival open day, champion trainer Paul Nicholls was confident about the chances of Celestial Halo, last year's Triumph Hurdle winner, although he has lost twice to Binocular this season.

Nicholls has not enjoyed the best of fortunes in the Champion Hurdle but he will be confident of claiming victory this year.


Last year's Festival action was partly overshadowed by the storms which hit the course and forced the second day of racing to be called off.

Winds of over 50mph caused structural damage and made the tented hospitality area unsafe.

It forced organisers to abandon Wednesday's racing on safety grounds, spoiling the plans of race-goers and causing a logistical nightmare.

However, the weather improved and the card was run across Thursday and Friday, but organisers will be hoping to avoid a repeat this year.


In the Queen Mother Champion Chase, Wednesday's feature race, the imperious Master Minded will be hoping for back-to-back wins.

Last year, Paul Nicholls's star won by a massive 19 lengths over Voy Por Ustedes, becoming at only five, the youngest horse to win the race and putting in what proved to be one of the most dominant performances at the Festival.

Although he suffered a reversal at the hands of Voy Por Ustedes at Aintree in April, he has returned impressively this year and is a short-priced favourite to retain his crown.

With a 10-length win over Tidal Bay in the Tingle Creek at Sandown and then another impressive victory at a canter in the Victor Chandler Chase at Ascot in January, his form marks him out as a winner.

Nicholls describes the horse as the best he has ever trained and believes he has improved since last year, which is ominous news for the rest of the field.



With the retirement of three-time winner Inglis Drever, there will be a new name on the World Hurdle trophy, Thursday's feature race over three miles.

So far this season, Kasbah Bliss has looked the pick of the stayers. Second to Inglis Drever last year, Francois Doumen's charge triumphed on his reappearance at Haydock's Blue Square Hurdle last month.

The popular Doumen, who brings a touch of Gallic flair to Prestbury Park, will be hoping the seven-year-old can succeed where he failed last year.

But the charge will be led by the Paul Nicholls-trained Big Buck's and Punchestowns from the Nicky Henderson yard who were first and second respectively in the Cleeve Hurdle on Trials Day at Cheltenham in January.

The ground did not favour Punchestowns that day and he could be the one who benefits most from the Festival conditions.



The Queen has always been a staunch supporter of racing but she will have a special reason for cheering on one horse at the year's Festival.

Her Majesty owns the Gold Cup challenger Barbers Shop, trained by Nicky Henderson, and she will be at Cheltenham on Friday to support the horse in the blue riband race.

The promising seven-year-old chaser was victorious on his last start in the Future Stars Chase in December and has been second on his two previous visits to Cheltenham, including in the Jewson Novices Chase at the Festival last year.

On that occasion he looked strong up the hill and he looks certain to relish the three-and-a-quarter miles in the Gold Cup.

Henderson, who has enjoyed more Festival wins than any other current trainer, has already joked that he doesn't want to end up in the Tower if Barbers Shop disappoints at the Festival.


The famous Cheltenham Gold Cup is Friday's feature race, and the world of jump racing is braced for a mouth-watering rematch between champion Denman and his Paul Nicholls stablemate Kauto Star, the 2007 winner.

Last year young pretender Denman got the better of the defending champion in impressive style and many people were predicting the beginning of an era of domination.

But he was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat late last summer which kept him off the track for 11 months.

He returned to action at Kempton in February but looked a shadow of the horse he was 12 months ago.

There are now serious questions as to whether he can reclaim his former glories at this year's Festival.

Kauto Star will benefit from the break after winning his third straight King George VI Chase on Boxing Day at Kempton while another Nicholls runner, Neptune Collonges, third last year, will also hope to improve.

The 2006 champion War of Attrition, the David Pipe-trained Madison du Berlais and Tony McCoy's mount Exotic Dancer are also challengers.



Whoever wins the 2009 Gold Cup will join a long and illustrious list of previous winners.

The Henrietta Knight-trained Best Mate is the most successful winner of recent times, claiming victory under Jim Culloty in 2002, 2003 and 2004.

Popular grey Desert Orchid triumphed in 1989 - just one of many high-profile victories for Dessie, who died aged 27 in 2006.

But arguably the greatest all-time winner is the mighty Arkle, who won three in a row from 1964-66 for jockey Pat Taaffe.

Met Office: up to 20mm of rain for Cheltenham


IF Cheltenham's private weather forecaster John Kettley is correct, Cheltenham 2009 should open with ground no worse than soft with good to soft places. If the Met Office is proved accurate, underfoot conditions could become heavy. The first winner of the festival will be known before a horse enters the paddock.
As has often been the case in recent days, Kettley, who focuses solely on the racecourse's "microclimate", and the Met Office, which offers a more general assessment, on Monday provided different predictions for Tuesday morning's much-heralded bout of rain. Kettley anticipated no more than 6mm of rain, but the Met Office believed that 15mm to 20mm was likely.
Claisse, who reported good to soft conditions on the two main courses (GoingStick 6. with good to soft, soft in places ground (GoingStick 5.6) on the cross-country track, said at 4.45pm: "We have had a dry day and the forecast remains much as it has been. John Kettley is confident that we should expect only 5mm to 6mm of rain between 2am and 6am. If we get that, I'm sure it will be good to soft, soft in places, if not soft, good to soft in places. If the Met Office is correct, we would have soft or heavy ground."
Claisse added: "I think they will get through the ground. It has not been raced on since March and the grass cover is good, albeit the grass growth is not as good as it was in 2008 or 2007."
Providing the Met Office view, a spokesman said on Monday afternoon: "There will be light rain from dusk today with heavier rain coming from midnight and lasting through to the small hours. In total, that could bring up to 15mm to 20mm of rain.
"It will become drier and brighter through Tuesday afternoon, but there will be a lot of cloud with the chance of light and patchy rain.
"Tuesday night will be dry, but clouds coming in off the Atlantic will bring outbreaks of light rain on Wednesday. Thursday isset to be a largely cloudy day with spells of drizzle and light rain. Friday should be the best day of the meeting with mainly dry conditions, light winds and some brightness."
Champion Hurdle-winning rider Philip Carberry described the racing surface as "good to soft but edging towards soft" after walking the track. Trainer Paul Nolan called the track "yielding" and jockey Robbie Power used the word "dead".

What will the official going be on Tuesday?
Betfair last matched prices at 4.50pm Monday:
1.11 good to soft, 3.3 soft, 44 good, 80 heavy.

Find out if the rain has started at Cheltenham with our Monday night news bulletin - between 8pm and 9pm

I note a couple of semi-serious suggestions regarding a trip to Cheltenham in 2010.

Well - if anybody out there is serious I would very much like to count myself 'in' as it would be fantastic to share the event with other interested (or even mildly interested) people.

But before we get all steamed up with enthusiasm I think you will need to pause and contemplate precisely what the cost will be. It's MASSIVE...........

Let's start off with Top-Of-The-Range :

That would be in the glass fronted restaurant overlooking the finish (I forget its name). You would need a minimum party of four so as to occupy a table. The all in cost ( admission, table etc.,) is just over 500 pounds per person per day. So we kick off with a cost in excess of 2000 pounds per person for the 4 days. And in that particular facility drinks are EXCLUDED.

There are other more lowly options at significantly less money but they are usually well removed from the action so you get to wonder if you should not have stayed at home and watched it on the box.

Once you have digested admission costs you have the problem of accomodation. Cheltenham is not all that big so you had better book your hotel RIGHT NOW for 2010. Out of town alternatives are there aplenty but that involves travel. Again - it gets pretty congested getting in and out of the course so you might want to consider ( and I'm serious ) accomodation out of Cheltenham with a daily commute via helicopter. You would probably need to budget about 200 pounds per day for accomodation and about another 500 pounds ( for four people ) per day for the helicopter trips.

Nevertheless I repeat - If a small group were to consider the trip please keep me in the loop as I would like to go again.

For the really ambitious ones amongst us there is another option : what about the 'Ultimate Racing Holiday'? I planned this one 2 years ago but canned it when my travel agent went bust. It goes something like this ( and I'll save you the detail for now ).

First Week - Cheltenham followed by major meeting at Lingfield on the Saturday immediately after the Festival.
Second Week -At leisure in the UK. ( Take in 6 Nations rugby or Premiership match )
Third Week - Hop across to Dubai for World Cup.
Fourth Week - Return to UK for Aintree Grand National Festival Week.

A lot of pounds required so you better starting punting clever!!