Enda McEvoy: Swings and roundabouts and odds-on shots clouting fences
BOWING OUT: El Fabiolo, with Paul Townend up, right, who pulled up, and Funambule Sivola, with Charlie Deutsch up, who finished third, during the Champion Chase. Pic: David Fitzgerald, Sportsfile
EJOICE, rejoice. The pressure is off. There’s money in the kitty. Day Two will not involve a desperate scramble to make good our losses and get on the board. We can afford to be selective and choose our targets and shafts with care.
What’s more, the cross-country race has been cancelled due to waterlogging, meaning a leisurely interval between each race. All the more reason to take it handy. More haste, fewer winners.
Not for us the obvious treble of Ballyburn, Fact To File and El Fabiolo. The favourites may keep winning but where’s the pleasure in that? The eternal quest continues for a horse who — the day being clear, the sky being bright — will come up on the left like a streak of light. At 25/1. This, after all, is the first Cheltenham since the passing of Shane MacGowan.
Ballyburn, rendered the biggest certainty imaginable on foot of Slade Steel’s success yesterday, slaughters the field in the opener. It looks bloodless. It is far from bloodless to one of the owners. ITV’s interview with David Manasseh demonstrates why Cheltenham still matters.
David Manasseh is, it transpires, a football super-agent. He has Gareth Bale and Jack Grealish among others on his books. He is presumably extremely wealthy and his attractive blonde female companion in the paddock is wearing a fur coat that could keep a small village warm for the winter.
You might have assumed David Manasseh had seen it all. Not so. This affluent, worldly, well connected man is practically hyperventilating with excitement and emotion. He can barely speak. There is something quite touching about it all. To repeat, Cheltenham — for all its problems with small fields and winning favourites — still matters.
Willie Mullins is in no doubt as to what’s been witnessed. “That was a Champion Hurdle performance.”
Next year, he muses, they could have both Ballyburn and Lossiemouth going for the Champion Hurdle — and that’s not mentioning the inmate of the stable who just happened to win the Champion Hurdle 24 hours earlier.
It is the way of WP’s world. Eaten Cheltenham victories are soon forgotten. Next ball. Next race.
The next race is the 2.10 and, on the basis that they were good to us on Tuesday, a fiver each way goes on the De Bromhead/Blackmore duo and Monty’s Star. They also go into a small each-way Lucky 15. The best horse in the race is Fact To File, who wins. The second-best horse in the race is Monty’s Star, who runs up. That’s alright.
Two small each-way bets in the Coral Cup yield an equally small profit on Shanbally Kid (third). Then it’s the day’s feature, the Queen Mother Champion Chase.
With El Fabiolo set to go off at 2/9 is there any point in an each-way flutter on anything else? On, perhaps, Captain Guinness at 17/2, given the form De Bromhead and Rachael are in? Nah.
At the fifth fence El Fabiolo all but capsizes. With him capsize a ton of accumulators also bearing the names of State Man, Ballyburn and Fact To File. (Brian Gleeson will later find a bookie who reveals that in 25 years of attending the festival it’s “the best result we’ve ever had”.)
Rounding the home turn Captain Guinness is bang there. The commentator mentions that he was runner-up in the race last year. Oh lordy. Now they tell me.
This year he doesn’t finish second. “I love seeing pictures of the De Bromheads smiling,” says Ed Chamberlin afterwards. Don’t we all?
The result is a lesson in the importance of having a swing. Long odds-on shots can always clout fences. “If you wanna win the Lotto you gotta buy a ticket,” declares Ruby Walsh. “It’s all about taking a chance and being there.” Who could he possibly be thinking of?
As Gavin Cromwell has a fine strike rate at Cheltenham, non-festival meetings included, Path D’oroux in the 4.50 is a component of the Lucky 15. He finishes third behind Unexpected Party, the latter doubtless heavily supported by every Tolkien-loving punter.
Willie has eight going in the bumper. Look, if he has no idea which is the best of them, how are we supposed to? I stick a metaphorical pin in the field and come up with Cantico. Who finishes last.
The €15 Lucky 15 ends up yielding the less than princely sum of €6.75. On the plus side, such as it is, being selective has led to an €18 loss on the afternoon, which in view of Tuesday’s success is nothing to worry about.
Tomorrow we reload and go again.
- Running total after Day Two: €89.45
