Whether
you managed to show a profit or not over the four days of the
outstanding Cheltenham Festival that concluded recently, it’s hard
not to have enjoyed the superb racing and series of utterly
unforgettable moments that make the fixture unquestionably the
premier jumps racing meeting in the world, writes
Elliot Slater.
The
biggest headline of the meeting was the utter dominance of champion
Irish jumps trainer Willie Mullins, who sent out a record eight
winners, including four on the first day alone! Amongst those four
was a superb effort from the hot favourite Faugheen (4/5) in the Stan
James Champion Hurdle. The unbeaten gelding was facing by far his
stiffest task to date - up against the defending champion Jezki, the
dual former champion Hurricane Fly, and the leading British hope The
New One - but his supporters had few anxious moments as he oozed.
Ruby
Walsh’s mount simply oozed class throughout the premier two-mile
hurdle and once asked for his effort showed a terrific change of gear
to power away up the hill, chased home by his stable companions
Arctic Fire and Hurricane Fly, giving Mullins an unprecedented 1-2-3
in the great race. Bookmakers have already made Faugheen a hotpot to
repeat the dose in 12 months’ time and he is currently evens
favourite with 32Red to lift the
title once again next year.
Walsh
totally dominated the first day of the Cheltenham Festival, also
landing the Supreme Novices Hurdle with 2/1 f Douvan and the Racing
Post Arkle Trophy with the brilliant prospect un De Sceaux (4/6f). A
truly dramatic success from 6/1 shot Glens Melody (who has
subsequently been retired to stud) cane though at Walsh’s expense
in the OLBG Mares’ Hurdle. The winner looked booked for second
place at best as they raced down to the final flight with her odds-on
stable companion Annie Power, ridden by Walsh, drawing clear and
looking certain to land a crushing four-timer of favourites for the
Mullins team that many punters had combined in heavy bets on the
market leaders.
Image
source: Paolo
Camera Caption:
Annie Power fell in the Mares' Hurdle
Inexplicably
though, Annie Power took off too early and crashed to the ground
having had the title at her mercy, stunning the massive crowd of
favourite backers who had already been counting their winnings into
near silence. Media reports suggested the fall of Annie Power had
saved the betting industry many millions of pounds, but it still
resulted in another Mullins success, courtesy of Glens Melody, who
just edged out Polly Peachum in a driving finish.
Dodging
Bullets (9/2), trained by Paul Nicholls, was the centerpiece of a
treble for the champion British jumps trainer on the second day of
the Festival. Most eyes were focused on the older champions Sprinter
Sacre and Sire de Grugy in the Queen Mother Champion Chase, but the
former failed to finish and is a shadow of his former self, while the
latter was simply no match for the principals this time around.
Dodging Bullets jumped and travelled beautifully before finding
plenty of reserves to see off the admirable veteran Somersby (33/1)
to land the two-mile chasing championship and could well prove hard
to beat for the forseeable future.
There
were a couple of surprises in store on day three. 16/1 shot Uxizandre
(trained by Alan King) became Tony McCoy’s first and only winner of
his final Cheltenham Festival when given a masterful ride by the
all-time great jockey. He led all the way in the Grade 1 Ryanair
Chase to beat the gallant mare Ma Filleule, and came home powerfully
to an unforgettable reception. Forty minutes later, similar tactics
were employed by the talented Gavin Sheehan on Warren Greatrex’s
Cole Harden (14/1), who showed he was back to his best after a minor
breathing operation and found plenty in the closing stages to see off
the Nicholls-trained pair of Saphir du Rheu and Zarkandar to win what
had always looked a wide-open World Hurdle.
Image
source: Paolo
Camera Caption:
Tony McCoy waved farewell to the Cheltenham Festival
The
final day of the meeting began with Nicky Henderson landing a 1-2 in
the JCB Triumph Hurdle courtesy of Peace and Co (2/1f) and Top Notch
(7/1), but the day was all about the Cheltenham Gold Cup, in which
Paul Nicholls’ Silviniaco Conti was a solid 3/1 favourite, while
there had been plenty of money for the younger pair Coneygree (7/1)
and Djakadam (10/1).
Coneygree,
trained by Mark Bradstock, had only had three previous outings over
fences, (he won them all easily) and no novice chaser since the great
Captain Christy way back in 1974 had won the Gold Cup. Despite having
all the stats against him, Nico de Boniville rode his mount
positively from the front and it was clear with three fences to jump
that most of his rivals - including Silviniaco Conti and former
champions Lord Windermere and Bobs Worth -, were struggling.
Going
to the final fence the Irish pair of Djakadam and Road to Riches
looked as though they may get the better of Coneygree, but he found
extra in the last 100 yards and hung on for a truly sensational
victory, rounding off an unforgettable week of truly breathtaking
performances all round.