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Plenty to celebrate after the Cheltenham Festival reaffirmed itself as the greatest sporting event in the world - Jacob King/PA
The Cheltenham Festival reaffirmed itself as the greatest sporting event in the world last week.
The sight of men past their prime and women of a certain age who would not pass the vet galloping through the turnstiles “a la false start” was a reassuring reminder that the crowd have this sport flowing through their veins.
The Festival would be nothing without the Irish fans who have been coming since Arkle blew the roof off the stands in the early 1960s. And thank God there are still priests among them.
The high for the winners, such as Jeremy Scott, who trains a handful of horses, was too much to take in among the baying crowd after the little mare Golden Ace had won the Champion Hurdle.
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Trainer Jeremy Scott basks in the love of the Cheltenham crowd after Golden Ace’s surprise Champion Hurdle success - David Davies/Jockey Club/PA
But the lows for the vanquished were crushing and devastating. The defeats of favourites Constitution Hill (Champion Hurdle) and Galopin Des Champs (Gold Cup) were a reminder that there is nowhere to hide when the fates decree it is not your turn.
The jockeys who carry the weight of expectation around with them are never far from adulation or condemnation. They may no longer get the downward thumb to put them out of their misery, as was the case in the Colosseum, but some would wish they did in their moment of despair.
Nico de Boinville was criticised for asking hot favourite Jonbon to take off too soon when blundering at the ninth fence in the Champion Chase, but it was a more than reasonable ask by the jockey at that stage of the race. Only a day earlier, De Boinville was being put up for a knighthood for his patience on Jango Baie when the partnership stormed past more impetuous rivals to snatch the Arkle. Such is the fickleness of grandstand jockeys.
Paul Townend, crowned top jockey at the meeting, got a lot of stick when State Man hit the deck at the final flight of hurdles with the Champion Hurdle at his mercy.
Townend met the hurdle on the “wrong stride”, and had to decide whether to throw caution to the wind and give State Man the encouragement to attack the hurdle off a long one, or try to steady him, pop in an extra stride and play it safe.
But more races have been lost than won at Cheltenham by de-accelerating going to the last, losing momentum and then being cut down by a faster-finishing horse. Townend made the right decision, but it did not pan out for him.
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The punters’ pal once more as Paul Townend celebrates victory aboard favourite Kargese in the County Hurdle - Dan Istitene/Getty Images
The capricious punters in the crowd roared for his head. But three days later, after he had landed the money on bankers Kargese and Jasmin De Vaux, all was forgiven – until he got beat on Galopin Des Champs.
The one that really got away in favour of the bookmakers was Johnnywho in the Kim Muir on Thursday. Crack Irish jockey Derek O’Connor came to the last, and perhaps with the criticism of Townend’s ride on State Man ringing in his head, decided to play it safe. But he paid the price for losing impetus and lost a race that should have been his.
Off the track, Cheltenham’s response to the wider cocaine issues in society has been impressive. Over the four days there were 1,297 detections with the Drugs Detection Dogs and 133 refusals to entry – the disparity in numbers due in part to the amount of cross-contamination that occurs through human contact and bank notes.
This approach, which could be described as zero tolerance but carried out with a light touch, acting as a deterrent rather than aggressive enforcement, created a good atmosphere.
There was only one arrest among the 219,000 four-day crowd made by the 650 security personnel and 150 police officers on duty, with 167 security cameras operating around the site every day.
There were four things that I learnt from this year’s Festival. Firstly, buy every Golden Horn foal you can lay your hands on. His offspring won the Champion Hurdle (Golden Ace, 25-1) and finished first (Poniros, 100-1) and third (East India Dock, 5-4 favourite) in the Triumph Hurdle from only five runners over the four days.
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Jockey Mark Walsh celebrates Gold Cup victory on Inothewayurthinkin, who was supplemented for the race at a cost of £25,000 by owner JP McManus - Mike Egerton/PA
Secondly, always back a horse who JP McManus supplements for a big race, such as Gold Cup hero Inothewayurthinkin. If he deems it worth paying £25,000 to make a late entry, we know the way he’s thinking.
Thirdly, ex-amateur jockey Jonny Beardsall’s handmade caps for ladies and gentleman are going to be the style for the 2026 Festival. ITV might want to take a look at that. And fourthly, I couldn’t tip s--- out of a wheelbarrow when it comes to picking winners.
But what really matters is that the Cheltenham Festival is back on track. It’s not all about attracting record-breaking crowds. It’s about getting the audience who bring the right atmosphere with them. And that happened this year.
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