Thumbs down for four-day festival
Down, essentially, was making the point that lots of people in England don’t particularly fancy the four-day festival and that only Gold Cup day is currently sold out.
You would have to say there is a fair old groundswell of opinion in this country as well that is rapidly turning its back on the notion of dedicating the best part of a week to a meeting which, on the evidence of a year ago, is very much diluted.
Attending Cheltenham was always costly, but now runs to a minor fortune. Most going for the duration will fly out on Monday and back on Friday, if they are lucky. Some of us won’t return until Saturday this time round.
It costs plenty to fly, plenty to get to Cheltenham from the likes of Birmingham, Bristol, Stratford or London, £260 for the four days to be where you want to be and, of course, accommodation is simply a rip-off. And you won’t live on fresh air over there either!
Basically, if you are a relatively small punter, and most are, then you have little or no chance of showing any sort of profit.
Don’t rightly know how much the whole shebang might knock you back, but it is probably fair to say one would have a tasty holiday for two in the sun for the same amount.
Now, faced with spending all the dosh on yourself or taking the leader of the opposition to, say, Marbella, what would be the wise choice?
You answered Cheltenham far too quickly, clearly not taking the brownie points to be earned into consideration!
In any case, I have been quite surprised at the number of punters who are either going to give Cheltenham a complete miss, or will just go for a day or two. And, apparently, some Irish trainers intend to behave the same way.
The old maxim says that if it’s not broken then don’t fix it. Why Cheltenham needs to race for four days is beyond me.
Of course, it’s good for jockeys, trainers and owners. More racing means more prizemoney.
But a colleague in the press room, Brendan O’Ruairc, likened the Thursday of Cheltenham last year to Kilbeggan, when interviewed by Colm Murray on RTE.
It was an exaggeration, yes, but at the same time, too close to the truth for comfort. The Thursday at Cheltenham, in the context of this amazing Festival, was grim.
This year will represent something of a watershed for Cheltenham and will tell us all we need to know about the four days.
We can be virtually certain, though, there will be no return to three days and that an increasing number of Irish will conclude that Channel 4 coverage and a couple of pints is a more than accceptable alternative.
* IT isn’t often a horse with a status in advance of what the form book reveals runs in a race, gets beaten and emerges with reputation enhanced.
But Eric McNamara’s Stoneville is, I think, one such candidate. He won two minor contests, as a prelude to going off a well-backed favourite to land a Grade Two at Naas on Sunday.
To my way of thinking both Vic Venturi and Merdeka had form which read far better than Stoneville.
Vic Venturi didn’t meet the engagement, but Merdeka made all the running to beat Back To Bid and Stoneville with a degree of ease.
The manner in which Stoneville stuck to his task, was encouraging, though, and he will have learned plenty from this experience.
He left Naas on Sunday evening a better horse than when he arrived.
* Cashmans’ Cheltenham preview night takes place in Silver Springs Hotel, Cork on Monday at 8pm.
It should be informative with Dessie Scahill in the chair and the panel consisting of Ruby Walsh, Barry Geraghty, Conor O’Dwyer, Paul Nolan, Henrietta Knight aand Terry Biddlecombe.
Admission will be e10 and proceeds go to the Injured Jockeys Fund.
Meanwhile, the firm has opened a book on who will emerge as the leading Irish trainer at the Festival.
They bet 5-6 Willie Mullins, 9-4 Noel Meade, 9-2 Jessica Harrington, 16-1 Mouse Morris, Colm Murphy, Dessie Hughes, 20-1 Paul Nolan, Edward O’Grady, Michael Hourigan 25-1 Charlie Sean.
* IF you love your flat racing, and plenty of us do, then grab a copy of the just-published Turform Annual.
It is the 18th volume in the series and provides an independent, objective assessment of the 3,000 plus horses which ran on the level in Ireland last year.
Serious about your punting, then this will prove an invaluable reference. Best way to get it is at the binocular kiosk on the racecourse.
