Cheltenham Festival : Binocular the star of Day

The 2010 Cheltenham Festival has started with a bang with a day of surprises leaving the bookmakers well ahead after an eventful day at Prestbury Park.
The star of the day was no doubt Binocular who claimed the Champion Hurdle in stunning style to compete a remarkable couple of weeks for the horse.
It was just a couple of weeks ago that Binocular was all but ruled out of the Festival with an injury but having recovered quickly claimed the win, with AP McCoy on board looked every inch the class horse of an open field.
Those injury doubts had caused Binocular to drift in the Champion Hurdle betting with the Nicky Henderson horse going off at a good looking 9/1 as they went to post.
All the talk before the Champion Hurdle was surrounding Go Native who went off as the favourite but he never got in the race, only Khyber Kim managed to challenge Binocular with Zaynar back in third.
The first race of the Festival was of course the Supreme Novices' Hurdle when Dunguib took his place as an odds-on favourite following a huge gamble from punters on both sides of the Irish Sea.
He never looked in great shape as he was outclassed by 12/1 shot Menorah who took a surprise win to leave the bookmakers delighted. A Dunguib win would have been a disaster for the bookies and they duly got their wish with Dunguib stuttering to third place.
The Arkle Challenge Trophy was collected by Sizing Europe for Henry De Bromhead who stayed on well despite being closed down by the good looking Somersby. It was an exciting race as usual with yet another favourite in Captain Cee Bee never in the frame as punters continued to have a bad day at the office on the first day of the Cheltenham Festival

Cheltenham may put a brake on moving Festival's final day to Saturday

It is a rare thing in racing when Saturday comes as something of a rest day for most of those in the industry. For the horses, jockeys and trainers, not to mention the record crowd at Uttoxeter's Midlands Grand National fixture, there was little time for reflection upon the highs and lows of the Cheltenham Festival that finished less than 24 hours earlier.
But it was not just bookmakers who spent the day counting cash – Cheltenham's managing director, Edward Gillespie, had considerable grounds for satisfaction on that score. Indeed, politicians trying to convince the public that Britain is out of recession need look no further than the track's cash tills.
An astonishing and unexpected growth in on-course Tote betting turnover, up 22 per cent year-on-year on Gold Cup day, took the four-day total past £10m for the first time, a cause for celebration for racing itself, as both the Tote and Cheltenham's owners, Jockey Club Racecourses, are committed to re-investing their profits into the sport rather than filling the pockets of shareholders.
Cheltenham have already submitted a planning document which proposes the construction of new buildings to replace the portable structures in the Guinness Village area, currently used by 8,000 Tattersalls racegoers and as many more hospitality guests.
While corporate sales have been hit hard, the changing face of the Cheltenham racegoer has produced unexpected rewards in other areas.
"The catering spend was up 14 per cent, which is remarkable against a five per cent crowd increase, and increased profits means that we can invest in better facilities and in the prize money, to make sure that we maintain the quality of the racing," said Gillespie.