Ballymore takes festival sponsorship

Ballymore Properties are to succeed Royal & SunAlliance as sponsors of the Grade One novices’ hurdle run over two miles and five furlongs at the Cheltenham Festival.

The race, to be run on the second day of the meeting (Wednesday, March 14) will have a record prize fund of £120,000, an increase of 20% on last year.

As well as supporting the Ballymore Properties Novices’ Hurdle, the urban development and regeneration company is extending its commitment to jump racing by supporting a series of Pattern novice hurdle races which lead up to the Festival.

The five other premier contests that now carry their banner are the Ballymore Ontario Tower Novices’ Hurdle at Chepstow, which has already been run, the Winter Novices’ Hurdle at Sandown on December 2, the Challow Novices’ Hurdle at Newbury on December 29, the Leamington Novices’ Hurdle at Warwick on January 13 and the Classic Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham on January 27.

Ballymore Properties was founded by leading racehorse owner Sean Mulryan, whose colours have been carried by such smart performers as Forget The Past, Mid Dancer and Linda’s Lad.