Little cause for optimism
The point can be made, of course, that we travelled with a weakened team, but using such an excuse would only mask the reality of the situation.
The simple fact is we went from ten winners a year ago to five this time round and, apart from the opening day, were essentially running uphill all the time.
Considering the huge number of horses now in training in this country, the massive prize-money on offer, the high-profile owners and talented trainers, managing only one winner on Wednesday and Friday, and none on Thursday, was quite unacceptable.
And, you suspect, the scenario may be even worse than the bare facts. Twelve months ago we had the first four in the Champion Hurdle, the first three in the Gold Cup, the first four in the Cross-Country Chase, the first five in the Foxhunter Chase and the first two in the Champion Chase.
Our hurdlers remain strong, but the chasers have almost disintegrated. Cane Brake was our best in the Gold Cup, in fifth, while Newmill, last year’s winner, could only manage fourth in the Champion Chase.
We did have first and second in the Cross-Country, Heads Onthe Ground and Silver Birch, and Whyso Mayo and Ned Kelly were second and third respectively in the Foxhunters, but those races are very much at the end of the chasing scale.
And, on the basis of what we saw last week, there is little cause for optimism. War Of Attrition seems our only possibility of winning next year’s Gold Cup and when a horse gets a leg injury, such as Kicking King, there are always major doubts.
Of the up-and-coming chasers, Snowy Morning would appear the only hope and he has ten lengths to find on Denman, on SunAlliance Chase running.
As regards winning the two mile Champion Chase, I would say you can name your price now and have no trouble being accommodated by the layers.
The likes of Voy Por Ustedes, Dempsey, Well Chief, My Way de Solzen and Twist Magic look far in advance of what we have to offer.
To put it in perspective, Jessica Harrington’s Gemini Lucy did best our of ours in the Arkle Trophy, finishing tenth of ten!
Schindlers Hunt, left out of the Arkle through clerical error, I hear you shout. A useful sort, yes, but has a lot to find on what he’s done thus far.
If the horses were largely disappointing, then the same cannot be said of the jockeys. Of the 24 races, 16 were won by Irish pilots. That left just eight for the home team and Robert Thornton hoovered four of them.
Thornton, what a fine rider he is, may have finished top jockey, but the week really belonged to Ruby Walsh.
His performance on Kauto Star in the Gold Cup was masterclass. To go down the inside took unbelievable nerve. If it had gone wrong many of the people now shouting about how good a rider he is, would have been leading the criticism.
If Kauto Star had fallen, been brought down or hampered then Walsh would have been villified, don’t have the slightest doubt about that.
When the race was over, he could have screamed blue-murder at all the doubters. But he didn’t and that was to his credit.
We often hear about being gracious in defeat, well it’s important to be gracious in victory as well.
Perhaps, that’s something Paul Nicholls might attempt to adopt in the future. In the immediate aftermath of Kauto Star’s win, he launched into a rant which, quite frankly, was just a trifle boring.
Was Kauto Star’s performance the brilliant display we are led to believe. It would be churlish to go knocking the seven-year-old, who did all, and more, that was required on the day.
But I’d say Ruby could hardly imagine he would be put under so little pressure. The gallop was relatively sedate and, as long as Kauto Star was still standing entering the final half mile, there could only be one result, given his two mile speed.
The time of the race was only 6.4 seconds faster than Drombeag in the Foxhunters. Last year, War Of Attrition ran the distance 11 seconds faster than Whyso Mayo in the Foxhunters.
Cannot understand the effort of Aran Concerto in the Ballymore Properties Novice Hurdle. There were massive rumours doing the rounds that all wasn’t well with the horse and one senior Irish jockey before the race, who shall remain nameless, felt he arrived at Cheltenham very light in himself.
Everything that could go wrong went wrong. He never jumped or settled and stumbled badly after the second last.
Maybe, it’s grasping at straws, but I don’t really think Tony McCoy suited him at all. Let’s hope he shows up at Punchestown.
The immaculate success of Sublimity in the Champion Hurdle defied all logic. The simple facts are that he had to find 31lbs with Hardy Eustace and 29lbs with Brave Inca. He was even rated 20lbs below Asian Maze.
Finally, I was standing watching a number of interviews being conducted down in the parade ring before racing on Friday when a gaggle of females emerged.
Apparently, they were taking part in a best dressed ladies battle. One male wag in the crowd, however, tossing a weary eye in their direction, was heard to mutter the immortal words: “Are they in the best dressed or the worst fed ladies competition?”
