Updates
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Cheltenham Festival 2019
Two of the showpiece events, the Champion Hurdle and the Cheltenham Gold Cup, proved anti-climactic, at least as far as the market leaders were concerned, but the Cheltenham Festival in 2019 still produced four days of exhilarating racing. Indeed, Espoir D’Allen may have been sent off at 16/1 against the likes of Buveur D’Air, Apple’s…
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Arkle: The Stuff of Which Legends are Made
For younger readers, or those unfamiliar with the history of National Hunt, Arkle is arguably the best steeplechaser of all time. I say arguably because his Timeform rating of 212, which has become the yardstick for every other steeplechaser since the mid-1960s, was achieved at a time when Timeform ratings for National Hunt horses were…
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A Blast From the Past!
Horse racing stalwarts Queen Mother and the Queen in the paddock at The Cheltenham Festival way back in 1957!
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Cheltenham Festival History
Cheltenham Festival 1997 – A Look Back Cheltenham Festival 1998 – McCoy and Pipe Dominate Cheltenham Festival 1999: Nicholls Breaks Through Cheltenham Festival 2000 – Déjà vu Cheltenham Festival 2001 – No Show Cheltenham Festival 2002 – The Festival Returns Cheltenham Festival 2003: Nap Hand for Geraghty Cheltenham Festival 2004: Time for Rupert Cheltenham Festival 2005: Three…
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Cheltenham Gold Cup 2019
The much anticipated 2019 Cheltenham Gold Cup (aka the Magners Gold Cup) was the 91st running of the Cheltenham Gold Cup race, held each year at the Cheltenham Racecourse, in Gloucestershire, England. The race took place on 15th March 2019 as part of the wider four day Cheltenham Festival and featured 16 runners. The going on the course was good…
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Can Old Favourites Get Back to Cheltenham Festival in 2021?
“Buveur D’Air” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Carine06 One of the endearing qualities of jumps horse racing as opposed to the Flat is that National Hunt horses go on for longer. They really do become public property and the Cheltenham Festival sees the same equine stars turning up year after year. There were some high-profile absentees from Britain’s premier…
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Cheltenham Gold Cup 2018
The 2018 Cheltenham Gold Cup, sponsored by Timico, featured 15 runners, but quickly developed into a memorable match between Native River and Might Bite, with none of their rivals ever landing a serious blow. On soft going, Native River, ridden by champion jockey Richard Johnson, made virtually all the running, but was pressed throughout by…
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Cheltenham Gold Cup 2017
The 2017 Cheltenham Gold Cup, sponsored by Timico, featured 13 runners, headed by 3/1 favourite, Djakadam, who had previously finished runner-up behind Don Cossack in 2016 and Coneygree in 2015. Indeed, having travelled well for most of the way, Djakadam looked as if he might break Willie Mullins’ Gold Cup “hoodoo”, but made a mistake…
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Cheltenham Gold Cup 2016
The 2016 Cheltenham Gold Cup, sponsored by Timico, featured just nine runners, but was nonetheless a dramatic contest, in which the market leaders came to the fore. The race was won by then 9-year-old Don Cossack, owned by Gigginstown House Stud, trained by Gordon Elliot in Co. Meath and ridden by Bryan Cooper. In fact,…