Three sensational stories from the 2022 Cheltenham Festival
As usual, the Cheltenham Festival threw up plenty of drama this year. As thousands of fans packed back into the Prestbury Park stands after the event was held behind closed doors last year, there was a special atmosphere across the four days, and plenty of cracking action on the racecourse too.
It’s hard to narrow down the 2022 Cheltenham Festival to just three moments, but we’ve zeroed in on three of the biggest stories that got our hearts racing at this year’s meeting.
Honeysuckle’s second Champion Hurdle crown
The big question on day one was whether anyone could stop the irrepressible Honeysuckle. The Henry de Bromhead-trained mare, ridden by Rachael Blackmore, was seeking a second successive victory in the Cheltenham Champion Hurdle, and with an unbeaten record heading into the race, few were betting against her.
In the end, those who bet on horse racing on skybet.com will have been pleased with the result, as Honeysuckle delivered another cracking performance to claim a second memorable Champion Hurdle victory.
That makes it 15 races unbeaten for the talented mare, and given the margin of victory, one wonders whether anyone will ever be able to get the better of Honeysuckle.
Tiger Roll’s last dance
One of the most exciting aspects of Wednesday’s Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase was that it featured the swansong of Tiger Roll. The Gordon Elliott-trained horse was being retired after a sensational career, which featured two Grand National triumphs and five Cheltenham Festival wins.
Many were backing Tiger Roll to do the business, especially after winning the same race by such a landslide last year. However, when the rain began to pour down upon Prestbury Park, horse racing enthusiasts were made to think again. Tiger Roll is a horse who generally only performs well in good conditions, and with the going ultimately being labelled heavy, it didn’t look likely that Tiger Roll would be able to cope.
But those who underestimated the legend were made to look red-faced, as he produced a stunning display to push Delta Work all the way. As the pair thundered up the home straight, Delta Work just edged ahead to deny Tiger Roll the dream finale, but that didn’t take away from a dramatic ending to his career.
Allaho and Flooring Porter on the double
For those looking at the Cheltenham results without having seen the races, they may have had to look twice on Thursday after Allaho and Flooring Porter claimed victory in the Ryanair Chase and Stayers’ Hurdle respectively for the second successive year.
It’s an incredibly difficult task for any horse to defend their crown in one of the Cheltenham Festival’s champion races, but that’s exactly what Allaho and Flooring Porter did. It was celebrations all round for trainers Willie Mullins and Gavin Cromwell.
Indeed, when you factor in Honeysuckle’s success in the Champion Hurdle, three of the championship races at this year’s Festival had the same winners as in 2021. However, this year’s victories will have felt a lot different, with the horses and jockeys able to bask in the adulation of the thousands of spectators who returned to Cheltenham for 2022.