Category: News

Historically, the Cheltenham Racecourse Committee always insisted that the addition of a fifth day to the Cheltenham Festival, which was extended from three to four days in 2005, was not on the agenda. However, in an interview with ITV Racing, Martin St. Quinton, who was appointed Chairman of the Cheltenham Racecourse Committee by Jockey Club Racecourses in May, 2019, stated, ‘I wouldn’t rule anything in, but I wouldn’t rule anything out’, rekindling press interest in a five-day Festival.

Indeed, Willie Mullins, the most successful trainer in the history of the Cheltenham Festival, with 65 winners to his name, dismissed speculation as merely ‘a press thing’. He told the Irish Times, ‘You would be talking about filling up on handicaps, which devalues the whole thing, I think’. Nevertheless, the Cheltenham Festival currently consists of four days with seven races on each day or, in other words, a total of 28 races. Other high-profile trainers, including Philip Hobbs, argue that, if six, rather than seven, races were staged on each day, just two extra races would need to be added to create a five-day programme. In fact, an additional Grade Two mares’ steeplechase is due to be introduced to the Festival programme in 2021, in which case just one extra race would be needed to create five, six-race cards.

One popular suggestion for an extra race is a Grade One hurdle over the intermediate distance of two-and-a-half miles, which seems logical enough granted that similar contests – namely the David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle, Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle, Marsh Chase and Ryanair Chase – already exist for all the other divisions of National Hunt racing. Opponents of such a race argue that it would dilute the quality of existing ‘championship’ races, such as the Champion Hurdle and Stayers’ Hurdle.

Nevertheless, the reduction in the maximum stake allowed on fixed-odds betting terminals, from £100 to £2, implemented in April 2019, has led to a spate of betting shop closures, with a knock-on effect on horse racing prize money. In difficult times, a five-day Cheltenham Festival would generate extra revenue so, like it or not, Martin St. Quinton may be subject to further scrutiny on the subject in due course. It would also of course increase the number of betting opportunities going forward, and there will be no shortage of tips for Cheltenham 2020, that’s for sure.

At RacingQuestions.co.uk we’re always looking to hear your input too. So what’s your take on a five day Cheltemham Festival? Is the existing and long standing four day format the way to go (in an ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ approach) and do you share Phillip Hobbs outlook that it wouldn’t take a great deal of alteration to change the current format? Or perhaps Mullins concerns about a potential watering down of the quality on offer offers pause for thought? As recently as January 2020 Best Mate’s trainer Hen Knight shared these sentiments, saying a five day festival would “lose the quality”.

I’m sure we’ll all soon be watching every second of the 2020 Cheltenham Festival and so it’s as good a time as any to ponder these questions. Whatever your view, feel free to let us know and of course it goes without saying that if you have any burning racing questions that you want answering fire those our way too!

The nature and prestige of the Cheltenham Festival ensure that every win, every failure, every near miss and every fall enters the history books. However, there are always plenty of noteworthy occurrences that stick in the memory longer than others. Indeed, at the 2020 festival, there is a chance for some horses, trainers and jockeys to make history. Below we look at some of the potential achievements that we might witness next month:

Five in a row for Altior?

Nobody can touch Quevega’s record (2009-2014) of six consecutive festival victories yet, but we could be entertaining that notion next year if Altior lands the Queen Mother Champion Chase. At the moment, he is 3/1 to land his third consecutive Champion Chase (it would tie Badsworth Boy for that record) but finds himself in the unfamiliar territory of not being favourite (Defi Du Seuil leads the market at 7/4). Adding a third Champion Chase to his 2016 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and 2017 Arkle victories would be remarkable, and possibly set up one of the races of the century next year to hunt down Quevega’s record.

Seventh Heaven for Henderson?

Nicky Henderson currently has six victories in the Champion Chase, tied with the legendary Tom Dreaper in the prestigious two-miler. If Altior wins, then Henderson will be out on his own with seven. Of course, it doesn’t need to be Altior, but it would be something of a surprise if Henderson’s other entry – the 50/1 shot Janika – lands him that seventh Champion Chase. On the other hand, Paul Nicholl’s sends several decent horses into the race, including an interesting candidate in 25/1 chance (Betfair) Dynamite Dollars, and he will equal Dreaper and Henderson with six wins if he succeeds.

A Five-Year Wait for a Hat-Trick?

Three-time winners at the Cheltenham Festival are rightly venerated, but there will be a lot of money going on Faugheen to win the Marsh Novices’ Chase five years after his Champion Hurdle triumph. Faugheen, who can be backed with the latest free bets for Cheltenham Festival at Freebets.com, is a tidy 6/1 to win the opener on St Patrick’s Thursday. However, there is another less conspicuous runner aiming for a hat-trick this year – Don Poli. Winner of the Martin Pipe in 2014 and the RSA Chase in 2015 (under Willie Mullins’ tutelage), Don Poli has had several changes of trainer in the last couple of years and can be currently found winning low-key point to points. It would be remarkable if he could land the Foxhunters’ Chase on Gold Cup Day. He’s 20/1 with Bet365 to do so.

 

Can Tiger Roll Eclipse Altior?

Altior is not alone in trying to become a five-time Cheltenham winner, as Tiger Roll will also start as 5/4 favourite for the Cross Country Chase in pursuit of his fifth win at the festival. The wins weren’t consecutive, of course, stretching back to the Triumph Hurdle in 2014. Tiger Roll added the National Hunt Chase in 2017, as well as the Cross Country Chase in 2018 and 2019. However, punters should be cautious as his trainer Gordon Elliott has advised caution over his fitness. Moreover, you would imagine that all the energy is going to be pointed towards another piece of history – winning a third Grand National in April.

 

 

The Cheltenham Festival is arguably the pinnacle of British national hunt racing, perhaps now even outshining the Grand National as the most important fixture in the jumps racing season. The Festival, which takes place in mid-March, host 28 races across four days. Fourteen of those are Grade 1 races – the highest level in national hunt racing.

While there is a glut of unmissable races at the Cheltenham Festival, including the Arkle and Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, we hear a lot about the “feature races” or the “day’s feature”. Those are the four most prestigious races at the Festival, with one taking place at 3.30 pm each day of the four-day event. Feature races aren’t unique to Cheltenham, of course, as every racing festival will have its standout events. But the features at Cheltenham act as signposts, pillars around which each day is built.

Here’s a brief guide to each Cheltenham Festival feature race:

Champion Hurdle

Established: 1927

With a distance of just over 2 miles, the Champion Hurdle is the most prestigious hurdle event in national hunt racing. It’s had many famous winners down the years, including Hatton’s Grace, Persian War and Istabraq, all of whom are three-time winners. Nicky Henderson leads the way as the trainer with most victories (7), whereas Ruby Walsh and Tim Molony both have four wins each as jockeys. The 2020 Champion Hurdle is likely to see a new generation of star hurdlers come to the fore, with the likes of Epatante (3/1) and Pentland Hills (7/1) leading the ante-post betting markets (odds from Ladbrokes).

Queen Mother Champion Chase

Established: 1959

Coming in at a fraction under 2 miles is the Champion Chase (The Queen Mother prefix was added in 1980), a race that has grown in prestige and that is now regarded as the top event for minimum distance chasing. Badsworth Boy (1983, 1984,1985) is the sole horse to have won the Champion Chase three times, but Altior can join him if he wins this year. Nicky Henderson’s star horse has looked unbeatable over the last four years, but he finally snapped his winning streak last November. That, coupled with fitness concerns, have pushed Altior’s odds out to 3/1 (William Hill), a price that can be capitalised on at freebets.co.uk – the best place for Cheltenham free bets. Altior is likely to see some stiff competition this year though, particularly from race favourite Defi Du Seuil.

Stayers’ Hurdle

Established: 1912 (modern renewals from 1972)

A long-distance hurdle event coming in just under 3 miles, the Stayers Hurdle was known as the World Hurdle from 2005-2015 for sponsorship reasons. It returned to the name Stayers’ Hurdle from 2016. As the name suggests, it’s the top hurdle event for stayers, i.e. horses that compete better over longer distances. Big Buck’s stands apart from all others in this event, with four consecutive victories from 2009-2012. Last year’s winner, Paisley Park, is the even-money favourite to win again this year.

Cheltenham Gold Cup

Established: 1924

 

The race that forged the legends of Golden Miller, Arkle and L’Escargot, the Cheltenham Gold Cup is a gruelling test of stamina (3 miles 2 ½ furlongs) for the best chasers in Britain and Ireland. It’s the most important race at Cheltenham and, one would argue, it has become the most sought-after prize by national hunt jockeys and trainers, even eclipsing the Grand National in recent years. Once again, we see last year’s winner as the ante-post market leader, with Al Boum Photo currently seeing odds of around 4/1. However, this race always delivers drama and quality, and there will be many top trainers believing they can add the name of their charges to the esteemed Gold Cup roll of honour.

The Cheltenham Gold Cup was inaugurated, in its current guise, in 1924 and the Champion Hurdle in 1927 but, in over nine decades, just one horse has won both races at the renowned Cheltenham racecourse. That horse, or mare, was Dawn Run who, in 1984, won the Champion Hurdle – as part of a unique treble, which also included the Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown and the Grande Course de Haies d’Auteil – and, in 1986, snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Dawn Run never ran in the Grand National; sadly, she suffered a broken neck during a fall in the Grande Course de Haies d’Auteil later in 1986.

However, two horses have won the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Grand National. In fact, the first of them, Golden Miller won both races in 1934 – the year in he recorded the third of his five consecutive wins in the Cheltenham Gold Cup and broke the course record at Aintree – and remains the only horse to do so in the same season. The second, L’Escargot, won the Cheltenham Gold Cup two years running, in 1970 and 1971, before denying Red Rum his third consecutive win in the Grand National, in 1975.

No horse may have ever won the Champion Hurdle, Cheltenham Gold Cup and Grand National, but one man who did was the late Fred Winter; in fact, he won all three races as a jockey and as a trainer.